Inhibitors of varying potency have been developed for types I and II 3-dehydroquinate dehydratase (dehydroquinase), enzymes from the shikimate and quinate pathways that catalyse the dehydration of dehydroquinate to dehydroshikimate. These inhibitors have resulted from enzyme mechanistic studies and from the direct search for enzyme inhibitors with herbicidal, fungicidal or antimicrobial potential. This review discusses the design of the various inhibitors that have been produced so far and some structure-activity relationships. The majority of these inhibitors are based on dehydroquinate analogues, although some work has also been carried out on dehydroshikimate and bissulfonamides. Some discussion is also presented on advances in the synthesis of these types of compounds.