This review is a survey of the main facts and concepts appeared in the last years on kinetics of oxidative dehydrogenation (ODH) of ethane, propane, butane and isobutane. The accent is put on the mechanisms and the kinetic models used for the description of this reaction. The main catalysts for ODH of light alkanes and the specific features of each type of alkane are discussed. Influence of the type of supports, promoters, acid base properties, type of oxygen on the performance of ODH reaction is also discussed. No clear interpretation regarding the mode of alkane activation of each stage of this reaction can be derived from the survey of the literature and the problems which are still waiting for the solution or need further studies are described.