Recombinant human bone morphogenetic proteins (rhBMPs) have past a long journey in human orthopaedic surgery during the last 15 years. From the first reports of the use of rhBMPs in hostile environments such as critically-sized bone defects, avascular femoral head necrosis, unstable thoracolumbar vertebral fractures, instability between the atlas and axis due to rheumatoid arthritis; over the use for nonunions of long bones and the scaphoid, reconstructive and revision surgeries of the hip, acute fractures, allograft nonunions, congenital pseudarthrosis, and various approaches of lumbar and cervical spine fusions, rhBMPs overgrow to a safe and reliable device in the treatment of open tibial shaft fractures, nonunions of long bone fractures, anterior lumbar interbody fusion and revision posterolateral lumbar fusions. Systematic review of the published literature of rhBMPs is presented.