There has been considerable progress in the development of a prophylactic human papillomavirus vaccine in the past 10 years, since the discovery of human papillomavirus virus-like particles. Licensure of the human papillomavirus vaccine is probably not far away. This would make it the first licensed vaccine against a common sexually transmitted infection. Although hepatitis B is a sexually transmitted infection for which there is an effective prophylactic vaccine, it is often not perceived as such by individuals taking the vaccine. Preclinical studies have already produced attractive vaccine candidates and recent clinical trials have yielded strikingly promising results. The candidate vaccines are generally well tolerated, induce high titers of serum antibodies to the human papillomavirus types and effectively prevent acquisition of infection and early clinical disease caused by common human papillomavirus types.