Diaryl ether (DE) is a functional
scaffold existing widely both
in natural products (NPs) and synthetic organic compounds. Statistically,
DE is the second most popular and enduring scaffold within the numerous
medicinal chemistry and agrochemical reports. Given its unique physicochemical
properties and potential biological activities, DE nucleus is recognized
as a fundamental element of medicinal and agrochemical agents aimed
at different biological targets. Its drug-like derivatives have been
extensively synthesized with interesting biological features including
anticancer, anti-inflammatory, antiviral, antibacterial, antimalarial,
herbicidal, fungicidal, insecticidal, and so on. In this review, we
highlight the medicinal and agrochemical versatility of the DE motif
according to the published information in the past decade and comprehensively
give a summary of the target recognition, structure–activity
relationship (SAR), and mechanism of action of its analogues. It is
expected that this profile may provide valuable guidance for the discovery
of new active ingredients both in drug and pesticide research.