A comprehensive overview on the mechanisms of muscle contraction and non-muscle cell motility at the molecular and cellular level is provided here along with a description of variety of experimental techniques associated with these systems. Recent findings on the regulatory mechanisms of contraction in skeletal, cardiac and smooth muscles as well as on the mechanisms of actinmyosin sliding coupled with ATP hydrolysis are presented. Then, as non-muscle motile systems, protoplasmic streaming and amoebold movement, based on actinmyosin interactions, as well as cillary and flagellar movement, based on tubulin-dunein interactions, are treated in detail. Finally, various aspects of cell division movements, where tubulin and actin play an important role, are described.