C–H oxidation has a long history and an ongoing presence in research at the forefront of chemistry and interrelated fields. As such, numerous highly useful texts and reviews have been written on this subject. Logically, these are generally written from the perspective of the scope and limitations of the reagents employed. This minireview instead attempts to emphasize chemoselectivity imposed by the nature of the substrate. Consequently many landmark discoveries in the field of C–H oxidation are not discussed, but hopefully the perspective taken herein will allow for the more ready incorporation of C–H oxidation reactions into synthetic planning.