<p>This review article includes a&#xa0;brief historical outline of the developments in reproductive medicine in the last decades, presents the current state of reproductive medicine and provides a&#xa0;view into the future. Only at the end of the 1970s could women with bilateral fallopian tube blockage be helped to fulfil their desire to have children. From 1993 onwards an effective method for treatment of male subfertility could be found with intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI). In most cases three embryos were transferred into the uterus The pregnancy rate was no more than 20% in the early years of assisted reproduction. As ovulation was exclusively triggered with human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG), there was a&#xa0;risk of ovarian hyperstimulation with formation of ovarian cysts and ascites. Nowadays, many women with infertility and, in some cases men with azoospermia can be helped with reproductive medical treatment. In most cases only one embryo is placed in the uterus. The pregnancy rate per embryo transfer is around 31%. Severe hyperstimulation occurs in less than 1% of all cases of treatment. Around 12 million people worldwide now owe their lives to assisted reproductive technologies (ART). Despite all the advances we still know little about the fundamentals of embryology and reproduction. The failure of in vitro fertilization (IVF) or ICSI treatment is still more likely than success. The chances of success of assisted reproduction must be improved by further scientific studies and further prospective randomized controlled trials with hard outcome parameters are also necessary.</p>