Book excerpt: Mass spectrometry is one of the most widespread technologies in chemistry and has been increasingly used in biology with the rise of omics sciences. This book summarizes some important methodological approaches in mass spectrometry and applications in the field of chemical biology. The core chapters build on basic concepts introduced in the opening chapter and explore established fields such as high throughput screening, proteomics and metabolomics. Emerging applications of mass spectrometry in elucidating biosynthetic pathways, enzyme mechanisms and protein-protein interactions are then presented. Connections between these diverse research fields are highlighted throughout. The book concludes with a discussion of databases and future perspectives. This book will be a useful tool to early chemical biology researchers wishing to incorporate mass spectrometry as a tool in their research.