Epidermal growth factor‐like (EGF) domains are one of the more abundant modules found in functionally diverse extracellular proteins. The domain is characterized by six cysteine residues, which normally disulphide bond in a 1–3, 2–4, 5–6 pattern. A particular subset (cbEGF) contains the consensus sequence [DEQN]‐x‐[DEQN]
2
‐x
m
‐[DN]*‐x
n
‐[YF] (where
m
and
n
are variables and * indicates possible β‐hydroxylation) associated with the ability to bind calcium. At present, cbEGFs have three main functional roles, as a spacer unit, in protein–protein interactions, and in structural stabilization. High‐resolution structures of cbEGF domains have identified a common fold, comprising a major and a minor double‐stranded β‐hairpin, stabilized by the three consensus disulphide bonds. A single calcium ion binds to the amino terminus and is coordinated by a pentagonal bipyramidal arrangement of oxygen atoms. Each individual cbEGF domain contains a calcium‐binding site, whose affinity may be considerably enhanced by N‐terminal linkage to another domain. A number of inherited diseases caused by missense mutations within cbEGFs highlight the importance of the domain.