The molecular chaperone, Hsp90, facilitates the maturation and/or activation of over 100 'client proteins' involved in signal transduction and transcriptional regulation. Largely an enigma among the families of heat shock proteins, Hsp90 is central to processes broadly ranging from cell cycle regulation to cellular transformation. Here, we review the contemporary body of knowledge regarding the biochemical mechanisms of Hsp90 and update the most current paradigms defining its involvement in both normal and pathological cell physiology.