Although cellulose xanthate (CX) is applied since more than 100 years in industrial processes, still some unsolved questions and exciting challenges are around. As CX is an easy produce able and powerful cellulose derivative, it makes it an interesting candidate for the production of functional cellulose composite materials, what is also the major task in my PhD thesis. The use of CX for the production of cellulose thin films, metal sulfide – cellulose multilayer approaches or drug-realizing fibers are just a few examples we are working on and it is exactly this diversity, what makes me so interested in CX.