Antifreeze proteins (AFPs) are novel proteins found in fishes, insects, bacteria and plants in cold climates. They are of varied types but generally follow a similar mechanism of action. 7 general types have been discovered till date depending on the organisms it has been discovered in and its role in preventing ice crystallization. AFPs have a unique property of lowering the freezing point without altering the melting point of ice, aphenomenon known as Thermal Hysteresis. The AFPs work by adsorbing onto the ice surface and restricting the growth of large ice crystals. It prevents ice recrystallization by making the surface thermodynamically unfavourable. CBF/DREB1 proteins of the Arabidopsis family have been found to regulate the expression of cold induced genes. These help improve the tolerance to cold in plants. There are varied applications possible for AFPs ranging from cryopreservation, de-icing, inducing freeze resistance in plants by using genetic manipulation techniques and longer storage in relation to the food industry. © 2010 RJPBCS.