AbstractDuring the cell cycle of the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe, striking changes in the organization of the cytoplasmic microtubule cytoskeleton take place. These may serve as a model for understanding the different modes of microtubule organization that are often characteristic of differentiated higher eukaryotic cells. In the last few years, considerable progress has been made in our understanding of the organization and behaviour of fission yeast cytoplasmic microtubules, not only in the identification of the genes and proteins involved but also in the physiological analysis of function using fluorescently‐tagged proteins in vivo. In this review we discuss the state of our knowledge in three areas: microtubule nucleation, regulation of microtubule dynamics and the organization and polarity of microtubule bundles. Advances in these areas provide a solid framework for a more detailed understanding of cytoplasmic microtubule organization. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.