AbstractDesigners and calculation engineers are becoming increasingly interested in the latest results on very high cycle fatigue (VHCF). Often, the influence of loading with a very high number of cycles on component behaviour is estimated conservatively, but the exact safety margin is unknown. This paper gives an overview of failure mechanisms in the HCF‐ and VHCF‐regions and of material and component related influences, which have to be considered in the fatigue life assessment. The state of the art of design codes, recommendations from the literature and initial investigations on variable amplitude loading in the VHCF‐regime are presented. This review indicates that further research activities are necessary to improve fatigue life assessment in order to allow a reduction of safety margins.