Complex cobalt oxides known as cobaltites are reviewed, including LnCoO 3 -based perovskite-structured rare-earth cobaltites (where Ln is lanthanum or a lantha-nide), quasi-two-dimensional and quasi-one-dimensional cobaltites of the types LnCo 2 O 5d , La 2 CoO 4 , and Ca 3 Co 2 O 8 , and Na x CoO 2 Á yH 2 O superconducting compounds. Key experimental and theoretical results are presented, with emphasis on the interplay between charge, spin, and orbital degrees of freedom. Two problems of specific relevance to cobaltites Ð the spin state instability of Co 3 ions in LnCoO 3 , and the nature of superconductivity in Na x CoO 2 Á yH 2 O Ð are also given significant attention.