Vaccination is one of the most important and cost-effective methods of preventing infectious diseases. Over the past decade, scientific in molecular biology and immunology have improved understanding of many diseases and led to the development of novel strategies for vaccination. An ideal vaccine would induce effective immunity specific for the type of infection, have long duration, require minimal or no boosters, have safety, would not induce adverse reaction, and be easy to administer. The desire to meet these criteria has resulted in the development of vaccines that do not depend on the use of the viable disease agent. It is not the intent of this review to give an extensive review of the field of vaccinology, but rather to address characteristics of conventional and genetically engineered vaccines.