The geometries of some 170 examples of calciumcarboxylate interactions from crystal structures of calcium complexes are reviewed. Calcium-carboxylate interactions fall into three main categories: a unidentate mode in which the Ca ion binds to only one of the carboxylate O atoms; a bidentate mode in which the carboxylate ion uses both O atoms to chelate the Ca ion; and an additional chelation mode, the a mode, that is observed when a suitable ligand for the Ca ion is attached at the a position and in which chelation of the Ca ion is achieved by use of the ct substituent together with one of the carboxylate O atoms. The three modes show distinct geometrical preferences, but in each there is a strong tendency for the Ca ion to lie near the plane of the carboxylate group. In general, there is little tendency for a Ca ion to be collinear with the C-O bond. The unidentate examples cluster on both sides of the C-O bond, with most Ca ions lying at Ca--O-C angles of about 150-170 ° on the side away from the second O atom of the carboxylate group, or 110-140 ° on the side toward the second O atom.