Surgery, radiation or hormonal therapy are not adequate to control prostate cancer. Clearly, other novel treatment approaches, such as gene therapy, for advanced/recurrent disease are desperately needed to achieve long-term local control and particularly to develop effective systemic therapy for metastatic prostate cancer. In the last decade, significant progress in gene therapy for the treatment of localised prostate cancer has been demonstrated. A broad range of different gene therapy approaches, including cytolytic, immunological and corrective gene therapy, have been successfully applied for prostate cancer treatment in animal models, with translation into early clinical trials. In addition, a wide variety of viral and nonbiological gene delivery systems are available for basic and clinical research. Gene therapy approaches that have been developed for the treatment of prostate cancer are summarised.