The term genus Arcobacter which was proposed in 1991 to categorize bacteria initially regarded as “aerotolerant campylobacteria” belongs to the RNA Superfamily VI of the epsilonproteobacteria. Arcobacters are members of the family Campylobacteraceae and phenotipically similar to campylobacters. They differ from campylobacters by their ability to grow under both aerobic conditions and under 30°C. Arcobacters are gram- negative, oxidase positive, catalase positive, motile and slightly curved rods. Currently, the genus Arcobacter has a total of 15 species including A. butzleri, A. cryaerophilus, A. skirrowii, A. nitrofigilis, A. cibarius, A. halophilus, A. mytili, A. thereius, A. marinus, A. trophiarum, A. defluvii, A. molluscorum, A. ellisi, A. bivalviorum and A. venerupis. Three species, especially, A. butzleri, A. cryaerophilus and A. skirrowii are more important in terms of public health significance and have been associated with gastrointestinal infections and extra-intestinal invasive diseases in human beings. Arcobacter species have been isolated from animal, water, food, seafood (shrimp, mussels, oysters) and clinical specimens and A. butzleri is the species most frequently associated with animal and human diseases. The routes of Arcobacter spp. infection are not yet clarified, but consumption of contaminated meat, milk and water seems to be the most likely vehicles for the transmission of infection to humans. In this review, general characteristics, classification, epidemiology, isolation and identification methods and isolation sources of Arcobacter spp. have been evaluated by using the recent data.