Recebido em 17/1/08; aceito em 7/4/08; publicado na web em 30/4/08 NATURAL OCCURRENCE, BIOLOGICAL ACTIVITIES AND SYNTHESIS OF EIGHT-, NINE-, AND ELEVEN-MEMBERED RING LACTONES. The natural occurrence, biological activities and synthetic approaches to natural eight-, nine-, and elevenmembered lactones is reviewed. These medium ring lactones are grouped according to ring size, and their syntheses are discussed. The structures of some natural products early identified as medium-ring lactones were revised after total synthesis.