OBJECTIVE Xenon is a colorless, odorless, inert, non-irritating, non-pollutant, non-explosive, stable gas with low solubility coefficient and anesthetic properties. This review aimed at describing some pharmacological aspects and the clinical use of xenon in anesthesia. BACKGROUND Xenon is an extremely rare gas with MAC of 0.63 to 0.71, MAC-awaken of 0.32 +/- 5% and solubility coefficient of 0.14, providing fast, pleasant and well tolerated anesthetic induction, as well as 2 to 3 times faster recovery as compared to other agents. It has beneficial analgesic and minimal cardiovascular effects. Xenon may increase pulmonary resistance and produce the second gas effect, although not as important as N2O. It increases brain flow, intra-cranial pressure and cerebral perfusion pressure. Xenon is able to prevent adrenal gland stimulation. CONCLUSIONS Xenon anesthetic properties grant it considerable advantages over other inhalational agents used in anesthesia. However, its high production costs make it prohibitive as compared to other existing techniques. New studies are being conducted with the aim of developing a more cost-effective method for using this gas.