In recent years, the zinc finger transcription factor ZEB1 (δEF1, AREB6, TCF8, Zfhx1a, Zfhep, Nil-2a) has emerged as a potent driver of epithelial to mesenchymal transitions (EMT) in both development and cancer progression. ZEB1 knockout mice, which are perinatal lethal and display defects in skeletal and T-cell development, illustrate the crucial role that this transcription factor plays in development. Also, numerous studies link ZEB1 to cell migration in cancer metastasis. However, scant information is available about its function in adults even though it is widely expressed in neuronal and mesenchymal tissues. Even less is known about the transcriptional regulation of tcf8, the gene   that encodes ZEB1, and what little is known is the result of an amalgamation of isolated studies in a variety of model systems. This review summarizes the current information available about the regulation of ZEB1 mRNA levels. Interestingly, many signaling pathways and transcription factors, including extracellular growth factors and intracellular steroid receptors, modulate them. Unfortunately, very few of the detailed mechanisms have been elucidated as yet. The goal of this review is to spur interest in understanding how levels of this key transcription factor are modulated in health and disease.