In this review, we report the successful application of a colloidal tool, namely microemulsions (ME) in the design of catalysts for various applications. First, a brief introduction to MEs and the water-in-oil (w/o) ME reaction method is given. The first ME formulations used for catalyst synthesis are discussed. Catalytic activity of the materials obtained from those initial studies, both as particles deposited onto a support as well as directly as nanoparticles in ME suspension is described. Then various application examples which highlight several important properties of the catalysts obtained from w/o ME are given. For example, particle size control achieved with ME is very relevant to surface sensitive reactions, whose selectivity depends greatly on metal particle size. Another important aspect is related to the unique microenvironment of MEs which results in specific interactions within the formed materials; this is particularly important for certain catalysts such as mixed oxide particles, conferring them with special properties and enhanced performance. Comparison of activity and selectivity of impregnation-prepared versus ME-prepared materials is given for several catalytic reactions. Finally, the more recently developed oil-in-water (o/w) ME method is described, along with examples of materials obtained by this method as catalysts, including photocatalysis. The different aspects discussed in this review demonstrate the importance of the ME reaction method for the design of nanocatalysts with enhanced activity and selectivity.