The ligand that stabilizes the metal center is crucial to its catalytic activity. Historically dominated by phosphorus and nitrogen, sulfur has long been little considered as a hetero element for stabilizing a potentially active metal center. However, this situation is changing and we are seeing more and more examples that incorporate this element. This review provides an overview of recent transition metal-catalyzed reactions with ligands containing neutral sulfur groups, i.e. thioethers. A selection of examples published over the last decade illustrates the diversity of applications of thioether-containing ligands and shows that sulfur should be more widely used in the development of homogeneous catalysis.