The presentation of recombinant peptide libraries linked to their coding sequence can be referred to as 'peptide display'. Phage display is the most widely practiced peptide display technology but more recent alternatives such as CIS display, ribosome display and mRNA display offer advantages over phage for speed, library size and the display of unnatural amino acids. These have provided researchers with tools to address some of the failings of peptides such as their low affinity, low stability and inability to cross biological membranes. In this review, we assess some of the recent advances in peptide display and its application.