Ovarian cancer remains the leading cause of death from gynaecological cancer. Advances in surgical and chemotherapeutic strategies have led to improvements in outcome. However, the majority of women present with advanced disease with little prospect for cure. In this article, we summarize the systemic management and ovarian cancer and raise a number of important issues: namely the timing of systemic therapy in relation to surgery, the selection of patients who do not require systemic therapy and the development of novel agents.