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The expression of most life history traits, such as immunity, growth and the development of sexual signals, is negatively affected by high levels of oxidative stress. Dietary antioxidants can reduce oxidative stress and have therefore been the focus of numerous studies in behavioural and evolutionary ecology in the last few decades. Most of this research has focused on carotenoids, neglecting a number of more common, more potent, and thereby potentially more important, antioxidants, such as polyphenolic antioxidants. However, the effects of several classes of antioxidants on different life history traits have been thoroughly investigated in medical and animal-breeding studies. We suggest that behavioural and evolutionary studies will benefit from incorporating these advances. By reviewing the literature on the effects of antioxidants on life history traits in fish, birds and mammals, we develop a broad framework for …