The facilitated diffusion of glucose, galactose, fructose, urate, myoinositol, and dehydroascorbic acid in mammals is catalyzed by a family of 14 monosaccharide transport proteins called GLUTs. These transporters may be divided into three classes according to sequence similarity and function/substrate specificity. GLUT1 appears to be highly expressed in glycolytically active cells and has been coopted in vitamin C auxotrophs to maintain the redox state of the blood through transport of dehydroascorbate. Several GLUTs are definitive glucose/galactose transporters, GLUT2 and GLUT5 are physiologically important fructose transporters, GLUT9 appears to be a urate transporter while GLUT13 is a proton/myoinositol cotransporter. The physiologic substrates of some GLUTs remain to be established. The GLUTs are expressed in a tissue specific manner where affinity, specificity, and capacity for substrate transport are paramount for tissue function. Although great strides have been made in characterizing GLUT‐catalyzed monosaccharide transport and mapping GLUT membrane topography and determinants of substrate specificity, a unifying model for GLUT structure and function remains elusive. The GLUTs play a major role in carbohydrate homeostasis and the redistribution of sugar‐derived carbons among the various organ systems. This is accomplished through a multiplicity of GLUT‐dependent glucose sensing and effector mechanisms that regulate monosaccharide ingestion, absorption, distribution, cellular transport and metabolism, and recovery/retention. Glucose transport and metabolism have coevolved in mammals to support cerebral glucose utilization. © 2012 American Physiological Society. Compr Physiol 2:863‐914, 2012.