Lung cancer is the most prevalent, yet most preventable malignancy worldwide. Given the tendency of small cell lung cancer (SCLC) to early relapse and its subsequent resistance to treatment, there is an urgent need to optimize standard treatment strategies and develop new treatments. Over the last decade, several strategies have been adopted and advances in the molecular biology of lung cancer have identified a number of targets for future therapy. In this article, we review chemotherapy strategies that have been evaluated in the management of patients with SCLC.