Ferroptosis is a prevalent and disease-relevant form of cell death characterised by specific metabolic constraints and an iron-dependent accumulation of lipid hydroperoxides. Emerging evidence suggests that ferroptosis is an ancient form of cell death and an evolutionary conserved susceptibility to cell death caused by the incorporation of polyunsaturated fatty acids into cellular membranes. Notably, this complex cellular death pathway has been found to be dysfunctional in various pathological contexts. These findings have stimulated a growing need to understand the underlying genetic and metabolic determinants that regulate ferroptosis in order to provide new avenues for their modulation in a therapeutic context. Therefore, the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation) established the Priority Programme “Ferroptosis: from Molecular Basics to Clinical Applications”.