There is currently much interest in the application of membrane technology in the agricultural fat and oil processing industry both for oil refining and for the enzymatic modification of fats and oils using lipases, due to the mild process conditions compared with conventional technology. These two applications are usually considered separately, yet the results from one field are often applicable to the other because the operating conditions are very similar This article reviews the research that has been conducted in both fields in recent years with particular emphasis on the choice of membrane the membrane performance and reactor configurations. Despite considerable research effort over many years the implementation of membrane technology in the oil processing industry has been very limited and some of the problems that have been encountered and areas requiring future research, if the potential of membrane technology is to be realised, are discussed.