Herein, we review the preparation and coordination chemistry of the cis and trans isomers of hyponitrite, [N 2 O 2 ] 2-. Hyponitrite is known to bind to metals via a variety of bonding modes. In fact, at least eight different bonding modes have been observed, which is remarkable for such a simple ligand. More importantly, it is apparent that the cis isomer of hyponitrite is more reactive than the trans isomer, as the barrier of N 2 O elimination from cis-hyponitrite is lower than that of trans-hyponitrite. This observation may have important mechanistic implications for both heterogeneous NO x reduction catalysts and NO Reductase. However, our understanding of the hyponitrite ligand has been limited by the lack of a general route to this fragment, and most instances of its formation have been serendipitous.3