This article provides a brief overview of methanol synthesis with emphasis on commercial catalysts and some of the relevant literature on this subject. Firstly, industrial production of this very applicable molecule, as well as a summary of manufacturing trends and challenges are presented. Secondly, requirements for methanol synthesis catalysts and recent advances in catalyst synthesis and compositions are examined and finally, reaction mechanism and the Cu-ZnO synergy in industrial methanol synthesis catalysts are discussed together with literature tendencies and possible future developments in this classic, but lively research area. (C) 2019 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.