Abstract Serpentinization is a key phenomenon for understanding the geodynamics of subduction zones in the 10–200 km depth range. Serpentines are a major water carrier, and their rheological properties have a strong influence on deformation partitioning and seismicity at depths. I review experimental investigations that have been conducted on serpentines, with emphasis on the large body of data acquired over the past decade. Determinations of physical properties at the pressure and temperature conditions of subductions allow interpreting geophysical data in active subduction in terms of mineralogy and petrology, and to link the presence of serpentinites with deformation and fluid circulation. The fluid budget can be partially constrained from geophysical data. Elasticity data provide a quantitative basis for mapping serpentinization in the mantle wedge and slab from seismic tomography. Anisotropy suggests the existence of thin serpentinite channels above the plate interface, that account for mechanical decoupling inferred from down-dip limit of the seismogenic zone and heat flow. Strain-rate dependent rheology of antigorite serpentine is consistent with stable deformation of this thin layer or channel over timescales ranging from those of the seismic cycle to those of thermal equilibration and exhumation of high-pressure rocks, and with the geological record of subduction-related deformation. Circulation of serpentinizing fluids depends on the permeability structure, and is imaged by electrical conductivity tomography. It could be controlled by fracturing in the undeformed cold nose of the mantle wedge, and by plastic deformation along the plate interface. Fluid migration mechanisms are similar to those inferred from petrological and geochemical data on exhumed serpentinites. Estimation of the fluid budget associated with serpentine formation will rely on numerical simulations for which coupling of kinetics of hydration and dehydration at scales ranging from grain size up to faulting pattern needs to be established, especially for water cycling to the transition zone in the core of the slab.