Inositol phosphates are critical constituents of cells. The discovery that they mediate multiple cellular processes has triggered tremendous interest in the structure and metabolism of these compounds. The structure and conformation of inositol phosphates has been a subject of long debate. NMR spectroscopic and molecular modeling studies were undertaken in my laboratory to provide a more complete understanding of the conformational preferences of phytic acid and inositol phosphates. In addition, NMR spectroscopic methods were developed to rapidly and unambiguously determine the structures of individual inositol phosphates in a mixture. Results of these studies will be presented.