Cysteine cathepsins participate in extracellular matrix (ECM) degradation and remodelling and thus influence important cellular processes such as cell transformation and differentiation, motility, adhesion, invasion, angiogenesis, and metastasis. Also, cathepsins are involved in cell signalling and are capable of activating specific cell receptors and growth factors or liberating them from the ECM. In this review we emphasize recent studies on cathepsins in regard to ECM degradation and cell signalling.