Thanks to their high specific energy content, their cost-favourable materials, and their good environmental compatibility, zinc/atmospheric oxygen batteries are of interest as energy source for electrotraction. Rechargeable zinc/atmospheric oxygen batteries are particularly suitable for this application. Use of atmospheric oxygen as reactant requires a semi-open construction with stringent demands on the materials of the interface. The state of the art of variants of this battery type and the principal components (air-diffusion electrode, zinc electrode, electrolyte) are presented in detail and discussed in this review article.