Platelets stop bleeding from damaged blood vessels and initiate repair processes. They are also involved in thrombosis, a pathological variant of haemostasis, and they have other physiological functions in inflammatory and immunity-related diseases. The function of platelets is largely dependent on the presence of a number of glycoproteins. Work over the past decade has shown that over 40 glycoproteins are present on the platelet surface. Some of these glycoproteins are described in the review and their structure-function relationships discussed.