The article discusses the discovery of vanadium, the presence of its various derivatives in soil and seawater and the impact on the development of certain species. Attention is drawn to the vanadium compounds occurring in mammals (including man), their transport in the body and the possibility of mutual exchange of vanadium V (IV) and V (V). Antidiabetic primarily addressed, also called insulin-like, vanadium influence a variety of derivatives, their proposed mechanisms of action, the use of in vivo and in vitro and in diabetic patients, toxicity and clinical effectiveness of the normalization of the symptoms of diabetes.