The article reviews the most important developments in the synthesis of heterocycles by gold catalysts for reactions directly involving the heteroatoms in the reacting groups. Reactions without direct participation of the hetero atoms, for example in substrates with the heteroatom in a tether between the reacting groups, are not included. In the last decade homogeneous gold catalysis has emerged from a handful of scattered publications to a hot topic, an area with now hundreds of publications per year. Among the many different products accessible by the new methods developed, heterocycles are probably the most important class of compounds with significant impact on the synthesis of agrochemicals and pharmaceuticals.