Proteins of the ESCRT (endosomal sorting complex required for transport) complex function in membrane fission processes, such as multivesicular body (MVBs) formation, the terminal stages of cytokinesis, and separation of enveloped viruses from the plasma membrane. In mammalian cells, the machinery consists of a network of more than 20 proteins, organized into three complexes (ESCRT-I, -II, and -III), and other associated proteins such as the ATPase vacuolar protein sorting 4 (Vps4). Early biochemical studies of MVBs biogenesis in yeast support a model of sequential recruitment of ESCRT complexes on membranes. Live-cell imaging of ESCRT protein dynamics during viral budding and cytokinesis now reveal that this long-standing model of sequential assembly and disassembly holds true in mammalian cells.