The tremendous challenge of inhibiting therapeutically important protein–protein interactions has created the opportunity to extend traditional medicinal chemistry to a new class of targets and to explore nontraditional strategies. Here we review a widely studied system, the interaction between tumor suppressor p53 and its natural antagonist MDM2, for which both traditional and nontraditional approaches have been reported. This system has been a testing ground for novel proteomimetic scaffold‐based strategies, i.e., for attempts to mimic the recognition surface displayed by a folded protein with unnatural oligomers. Retroinverso peptides, peptoids, terphenyls, β‐hairpins, p‐oligobenzamides, β‐peptides, and miniproteins have all been explored as inhibitors of the p53/MDM2 interaction, and we focus on these oligomer‐based efforts. Traditional approaches have been successful as well, and we briefly review small molecule inhibitors along with other strategies for reactivation of the p53 pathway, for comparison with oligomer‐ based approaches. We close with comments on an emerging dichotomy among protein–protein interaction targets. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Biopolymers (Pept Sci) 88: 657–686, 2007.This article was originally published online as an accepted preprint. The “Published Online” date corresponds to the preprint version. You can request a copy of the preprint by emailing the Biopolymers editorial office at biopolymers@wiley.com