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It is a real pleasure for me to serve as the executive guest editor for Current Organic Chemistry's special issue on recent developments in the synthesis of heterocycles by transition-metal catalyzed cyclization reactions. The importance of heterocycles in many field of Science (including Organic Chemistry, Inorganic Chemistry, Bioorganic Chemistry, Biological Chemistry, Agricultural Chemistry, Industrial Chemistry, Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Medicinal Chemistry, and Material Science) can hardly be overemphasized, and justifies a long lasting effort to work out new synthetic protocols for their production. A particularly attractive approach is based on transition-metal catalyzed heterocyclization reactions of suitably functionalized substrates, which can allow the regioselective synthesis of highly functionalized heterocycles starting from readily available starting materials under mild and selective conditions. During the last years, this approach to the synthesis of heterocycles has acquired a growing importance, as testified by the increasing number of publications, including reviews, devoted to this kind of Chemistry. This volume will cover a wide range of topics related to transition-metal catalyzed synthesis of heterocycles, ranging from cyclocarbonylation to ring-closing metathesis. The first review, by Professor G. Balme (University of Lyon 1 "Claude Bernard") and co-authors D. Conreaux, D. Bouyssi, and N. Monteiro, deals with the Pd-catalyzed construction of heteropolycyclic molecules through an ordered sequence of steps, in which palladium intervenes in at least two sequential different transformations. The use of hydrosilylation, silylformylation, silylcarbocyclization, and cyclohydrocarbonylation reactions for the synthesis of heterocycles is illustrated in the review by Professor I. Ojima (State University of New York at Stony Brook) and co-author G. Varchi. The next review, by Professor B. Schmidt (University of Dortmund) and co-author J. Hermanns, reports on the recent advances on the synthesis of functionalized heterocycles by RCM (Ring Closing Metathesis) of polyunsaturated substrates. The review by Professor G. Vasapollo (University of Lecce) and co-author G. Mele is focused on the use of carbon monoxide as a building block for synthesizing heterocycles bearing a carbonyl group into the cycle (cyclocarbonylation). The versatility of Pd-based catalytic methodologies for the synthesis and functionalization of benzo[b]furans is illustrated in the review by Professor S. Cacchi (University of Rome 1 "La Sapienza") along with co-authors G. Fabrizi and A. Goggiamani. The recent developments on the transition-metal-catalyzed intramolecular enyne cyclization reaction leading to heterocycles have been reviewed by Professor Z. Zhang (Shanghai Jiaotong University) together with co-authors G. Zhu, X. Tong, F. Wang, X. Xie, and L. Jiang. The final review, by Professor F. Ragaini (University of Milan) along with co-authors S. Cenini, E. Gallo, A. Caselli and S. Fantauzzi, illustrates the utility of the reductive carbonylation reaction of nitroarenes for the one-step synthesis of heterocyclic derivatives. Finally, I would like to thank all the authors and the editorial staff for making this issue possible.