The Drosophila melanogaster ovary has served as a popular and successful model for understanding a wide range of biological processes: stem cell function, germ cell development, meiosis, cell migration, morphogenesis, cell death, intercellular signaling, mRNA localization, and translational control. This review provides a brief introduction to Drosophila oogenesis, along with a survey of its diverse biological topics and the advanced genetic tools that continue to make this a popular developmental model system.