Oxylipins comprise a variety of oxygenated fatty acids and their metabolites that have wide-ranging regulatory roles in plants and other organisms. Jasmonates, which comprise the major class of plant oxylipins, are crucial phytohormones involved in numerous aspects of growth and development, and metabolism. They also mediate plant-environment interactions, including response to insect and pathogen attack. Jasmonate research has intensified over the last decade, with the international research community growing exponentially – as witnessed at the recent Regulatory Oxylipins Meeting held at VIB-Ghent University (Belgium) in April 2019, organized by Alain Goossens and Ted Farmer. This Spotlight Issue features a report of the meeting (pp. 2609–2612), providing insight into the latest research trends to emerge from this exciting field, plus five review articles that highlight the breadth of biological processes mediated by jasmonates and related oxylipins.