The study of fish escape responses has provided important insights into the accelerative motions and fast response times of these animals. In addition, the accessibility of the underlying neural circuits has made the escape response a fundamental model in neurobiology. Fish escape responses were originally viewed as highly stereotypic all-or-none behaviours. However, research on a wide variety of species has shown considerable taxon-specific and context-dependent variability in the kinematics and neural control of escape. In addition, escape-like motions have been reported: these resemble escape responses kinematically, but occur in situations that do not involve a response to a threatening stimulus. This Review focuses on the diversity of escape responses in fish by discussing recent work on: (1) the types of escape responses as defined by kinematic analysis (these include C- and S-starts, and single- versus double-bend responses); (2) the diversity of neuromuscular control; (3) the variability of escape responses in terms of behaviour and kinematics within the context of predator−prey interactions; and (4) the main escape-like motions observed in various species. Here, we aim to integrate recent knowledge on escape responses and highlight rich areas for research. Rapidly developing approaches for studying the kinematics of swimming motion both in the lab and within the natural environment provide new avenues for research on these critical and common behaviours.