As feminist scholars and activists turned their attention to the rapidly expanding field of bioethics in the second half of the twentieth century, feminist bioethics began to emerge as a new area of academic interest. Utilizing the resources of feminist philosophy, social theory and related fields, feminists have critiqued and extended the prevailing framework(s) of mainstream bioethics. This article considers feminist criticism of mainstream bioethics, and chronicles the evolution and growth of feminist bioethics, considering the areas of scholarship and activism that have informed it; its emergence as a distinctive academic sub-field; its contributions to the analysis of substantive bioethical issues, bioethical theory and methodology; and current, emerging and future areas of activity.