ATP-dependent chromatin-remodeling machines of the SWI/SNF family are involved in many cellular processes in eukaryotic nuclei, such as transcription, replication, repair and recombination. Remodeling factors driven by the ATPase ISWI make up a subgroup of this family that exhibits defined mechanistic and functional characteristics. ISWI-induced nucleosome mobility endows nucleosomal arrays with dynamic properties and recent results suggest that ISWI-type remodelers have diverse functions that range from transcriptional regulation to chromatin assembly and maintenance of chromosome structure.