Environmental concerns have driven the need to remove sulfur-containing compounds from light oil. As the oxidative desulfurization is conducted under very mild reaction conditions, much attention has been recently devoted to this process. In this contribution, the developments in selective removal of organosulfur compounds present in liquid fuels via oxidative desulfurization, including both the chemical oxidation and biodesulfurization, are reviewed. At the end of each section, a brief account of the research directions needed in this field is also included.