The first five years of operation of the multi-purpose experiments ZEUS and H1 at the electron-proton storage ring facility HERA have opened a new era in the study of vector-meson production in high-energy photon-proton interactions. The high center-ofmass energy available at this unique accelerator complex allows investigations in hitherto unexplored kinematic regions, providing answers to long-standing questions concerning the energy-dependence of the ρ 0 , ω, φ, and J/ψ production cross sections. The excellent angular acceptance of these detectors, combined with that of specialized tagging detectors at small production angles, has permitted measurements of elastic and inelastic production processes for both quasi-real photons and those of virtuality exceeding the squared mass of the vector meson. This report provides a quantitative picture of the present status of these studies, comparing them to the extensive measurements in this field at lower energies and summarizing topical developments in theoretical work motivated by the new data.