Data on methods for the construction of the 4-quinolone skeleton and modification of the substituents around it are reviewed. The "structure-activity" relationships of 4-quinolones are examined with respect to antibacterial and antitumor activity.Keywords: 4-quinolones, biological activity. 4-Quinolones have been a subject of research for many scientific teams, and this is reflected in the numerous reviews and monographs devoted to various aspects of the subject. One of the early reviews [1] concerns aspects of the synthesis of individual representatives of the group of 4-quinolones and comparative characterization of their antimicrobial activity. Basic approaches to construction of the fluoroquinolone skeleton and also variation of the substituents at various positions of the ring were examined in the review [2]. The relationship between the structure and antibacterial activity is discussed in [3], and methods for the synthesis of polycyclic derivatives of 4-quinolones based on the annelation of rings to the various faces of the quinoline skeleton are discussed in the review [4]. The reviews [5, 6] were devoted to identification of the structural modifications of 4-quinolones responsible for their conversion from antibacterial agents to antitumor agents. The molecular and biological aspects of the antibacterial action of 4-quinolone-3-carboxylic acids are examined in [7], and issues concerned with the clinical application of 4-quinolones are discussed in the reviews [8][9][10][11][12] and in the monograph [13]. The synthesis and the "structure-activity" relationships of the bioisosteres of 4-quinolones -2-pyridones -are examined in the review [14].The aim of the present review was to classify existing methods for the synthesis not only of fluoroquinolones but also of any 4-quinolones, to demonstrate the effects of modification of the molecule at all positions, to summarize data on the various types of activity, and to examine the "structure-activity" relationship with respect to antibacterial and antitumor activity.