Autophagy is a self-degradation process that is essential for survival, differentiation, development, and homeostasis. There are at least three forms of autophagy – chaperone mediated autophagy, microautophagy, and macroautophagy– that differ with respect to their mechanisms, physiological functions and cargo specificity all of which are involved in the lysosomal degradation of cellular components. The interplay between autophagy and apoptosis is discussed which is a complex phenomenon and not fully understood. The two processes are regulated by common factors and share common components, whereas the activity of one can regulate the activity of the other.