The identification and characterisation of differentially regulated genes in oocytes and early embryos are required to understand the mechanisms involved in maturation, fertilisation, early cleavage and even long-term development. Several methods, including reverse transcription–polymerase chain reaction-based suppression subtractive hybridisation, differential display and cDNA microarray, have been applied to identify maternally derived genes in mammalian oocytes. However, conventional gene-knockout experiments to determine specific gene functions are labour intensive and inefficient. Recent developments include the use of RNA interference techniques to establish specific gene functions in mammalian oocytes and early embryos. Regulation of the poly(A) tail length is a major factor in controlling the activities of maternal transcripts in mammals. Further studies are required to clarify the mechanisms by which expression levels of maternally derived transcripts are regulated. In the present review, we focus on the identification and functions of the differentially expressed transcripts during oocyte maturation, fertilisation and early cleavage.