Hyphal growth is driven by localised cell surface expansion and cell wall deposition at the hyphal tip. Spatial and temporal regulatory mechanisms enforce this growth pattern by controlling the recruitment of the morphogenetic machinery, which consists of the cytoskeletal and vesicle trafficking elements that mobilise the precursors needed for growth. In addition to the establishment and maintenance of hyphal polarity, the ability to regulate the termination of polarised growth is likely to be important because it facilitates transitions from hyphal growth to development or pathogenesis. Hyphal growth presumably evolved as an adaptation that enabled filamentous fungi to efficiently colonise terrestrial habitats.