This review discusses the progress in the synthesis of poly(aryleneethynylene)s (PAEs). It covers the literature from 1999 through 2003. The last comprehensive review of РАЕ synthesis appeared in 2000. The present review comprehensively updates the developments in the synthesis of PAEs. Synthetic methods are discussed first, followed by the description of PAEs with novel structures and topologies. Progress has been made in the field of water-soluble and bioavailable poly(para-phenyleneethynylene)s (PPEs) and in the field of heterocyclic PAEs. In the last section the polymer-analogous reactions of PAEs are treated. Reduction and metal complexation are discussed. Most of the novel PAEs are proposed for applications in "plastic electronics" and/or in sensors.