The present review is focused on the most recent achievements in the application of liquid phase 17O nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) to inorganic, organic, and biochemical molecules focusing on their structure, conformations, and (bio)chemical behavior. The review is composed of four basic parts, namely, (1) simple molecules; (2) water and hydrogen bonding; (3) metal oxides, clusters, and complexes; and (4) biological molecules. Experimental 17O NMR chemical shifts are thoroughly tabulated. They span a range of as much as almost 650 ppm (from −35.6 to +610.0 ppm) for inorganic and organic molecules, whereas this range is much wider for biological species being of about 1350 ppm (from −12 to +1332 ppm), and in the case of hemoproteins and heme‐model compounds, isotropic chemical shifts of up to 2500 ppm were observed. The general prospects and caveats in the modern development of the liquid phase 17O NMR in chemistry and biochemistry are critically discussed and briefly outlined in view of their future applications.