AbstractWhile starvation‐induced autophagy is thought to randomly degrade cellular components, under certain circumstances autophagy selectively recognizes, sequesters, and degrades specific targets via autophagosomes. This process is called selective autophagy, and it contributes to cellular homeostasis by degrading specific soluble proteins, supramolecular complexes, liquid‐liquid phase‐separated droplets, abnormal or excess organelles, and pathogenic invasive bacteria. This means that autophagy, like the ubiquitin‐proteasome system, strictly regulates diverse cellular functions through its selectivity. In this short review, we focus on the mechanism of "selective" autophagy, which is rapidly being elucidated.