Endocytosis is crucial for an array of cellular functions and can occur through several distinct mechanisms with the capacity to internalize anything from small molecules to entire cells. The clathrin-mediated endocytic pathway has recently received considerable attention because of (i) the identification of an array of molecules that orchestrate the assembly of clathrin-coated vesicles and the selection of the vesicle cargo and (ii) the resolution of structures for a number of these proteins. Together, these data provide an initial three-dimensional framework for understanding the clathrin endocytic machinery.