The microtubule-associated protein 2 kinase (MAP2-kinase), now better known as mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK), was initially discovered in association with the cytoskeleton, and was later also implicated in cell division. The importance of mitogenic stimulation in plant development roused interest in finding the plant homologues of MAPKs. However, data on plant MAPKs in cell division are rather sparse and fragmentary. Therefore we place the available information on cell cycle control of MAPKs in plants into a broader context. We discuss four aspects of cell division control: cell proliferation and the G1/S-phase transition, G2-phase and mitosis, cytokinesis, and cytoskeletal reorganisation. Future work will reveal to what extent plants use signalling pathways that are similar or different to those of animal or yeast cells in regulating cell divisions.