The development of taxanes in cancer chemotherapy required several decades of research mainly because of the difficulty related to supply and formulation of paclitaxel. Lesser difficulty was encountered in the development of docetaxel, which initially took place in breast cancer. In this disease, docetaxel showed a significant activity, probably superior to that of paclitaxel. In the first-generation studies in patients with early breast cancer, comparing anthracycline-based regimens with regimens containing anthracyclines and taxanes, docetaxel significantly improved survival independently from schedule, either sequential or concurrent. The aim of current second-generation studies, comparing taxanes in all study arms, is to answer several questions, including the best administration schedule and the best taxane to be used. Currently, the use of docetaxel in the adjuvant chemotherapy of breast cancer represents one of the most important achievements in the treatment of this disease. However, since further improvement in therapeutic results are needed, it is likely that in the future docetaxel will be used in combination with molecular targeted agents.