Although it has been shown that oestrogen replacement therapy is able to improve wound healing, several side effects of this replacement therapy have precluded its common use in clinical practice. On the other hand, the phytoestrogen genistein (the selective oestrogen receptor modulator belonging to the group of isoflavones) has been introduced into several clinical trials to improve cancer treatment efficiency and experiments suggest its positive effect on wound healing. The main mechanisms of action, which have been elucidated so far, include induction of apoptosis, cell cycle arrest, inhibition of angiogenesis and tyrosine kinase activity as well as cancer chemoprevention and reduction of climacteric symptoms. Unfortunately, all underlying mechanism in the modulation of biological processes involved in wound healing and tumour growth are not yet fully understood. Therefore, the present review summarizes the effects of genistein on biological processes in different wound healing models and selected tumours. Key words: genistein • tissue repair and regeneration • carcinoma • skin.