The production of compounds known as building blocks from renewable resources has aroused much interest from the scientific community in the recent years. Building blocks are molecules that exhibit in most cases multiple functional groups and offer unique possibilities to be chemically or biologically transformed into high added-value compounds. Some examples of these include biopolymers, biofuels, solvents, and biochemicals. Among the examples of building blocks, 5- (hydroxymethyl)furfural (5-HMF) is presented as one of the most studied compound in recent years due to its potential as raw material for preparation of bio-based chemicals. In this context, in the proposed review, the recent synthetic methodologies for 5-HMF production from renewable resources will be presented, as well as the application of 5-HMF as raw material for liquid biofuels and biopolymers production.91248273