Much scientific research has focused on characterising regulatory pathways and mechanisms responsible for cell integrity, growth and division. This area of study is of direct relevance to human medicine as uncontrolled growth and division underlies many diseases, most strikingly cancer. In cancer cells, normal regulatory mechanisms for growth and division are often altered, or even fail to exist. This review summarises the mechanisms that control the genes and gene products regulating cytokinesis and cell separation in the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe, as well as highlighting conserved aspects in the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae and higher eukaryotes. Particular emphasis is put on the role of gene expression, the Polo-like kinases (Plks), and the signal transduction pathways that control these processes.