The direct oxidative cyclization of 1,5-dienes is a valuable synthetic method for the (dia)stereoselective preparation of substituted tetrahydrofurans. Closely related reactions start from 5,6-dihydroxy or 5-hydroxyalkenes to generate similar products in a mechanisticallyanalogous manner. After a brief overview on the history of this group of transformations and a survey on mechanistic andstereochemical aspects, this review article provides a summary on applications in natural product synthesis. Moreover, current limitationsand future directions in this area of chemistry are discussed.