Recent studies on taxanes, microtubule-stabilizing agents and effective anti-cancer drugs, have identified numerous cellular and molecular effects associated with the induction of apoptosis. The activation of the caspase cascade is a central effector mechanism promoting apoptosis in response to death-inducing signals from cell surface receptors, from mitochondria, or from endoplasmic reticular stress. Release of cytochrome c from mitochondria into the cytosol has been implicated as an important step in apoptosis. In the cytosol, cytochrome c binds to Apaf-1, thereby triggering Apaf-1-mediated activation of caspase-9. Caspase-9 is thought to propagate the death signal by triggering other caspase activation events. However, details in taxane-induced apoptosis remain obscure. In this review, I will discuss the apoptotic events that lie upstream of caspase-9 in the cytochrome c-inducible pathway, and summarize the effect of microtubule targeting agents on apoptotic pathways