A review.The well-established utility of aluminum isopropoxide (AIP) as a catalytic agent in numerous areas of organic synthesis is discussed.Classic Meerwein-Ponndorf-Verley (MPV) reactions for the reduction of aldehydes and ketones to alcs. are summarized.This review emphasizes improved catalytic activity through AIP derivatives (chloro-, TFA) and co-catalysts (AlCl3, aluminum sec-butoxide, ZnCl2).The use of aluminum isopropoxide for the preparation of other catalysts is also discussed where AIP is the aluminum alkoxide of choice for preparing higher alkoxide and acylate Al-catalysts.The use of AIP and its derivatives has unfortunately been supplanted in many cases by the use of hydrides such as LiAlH4 and NaBH4, which may cause it to be overlooked by modern practitioners of the synthetic organic art.This review provides a look at the catalytic versatility of AIP and an extensive bibliog. of the aluminum isopropoxide literature as an aid to those current researchers who wish to explore its utility in their own work.Addnl., we present some results from current work on alternative approaches for catalysis with AIP as a comparison with the existing literature work on some well-known systems.