Parabens are a group of substances commonly employed as preservatives, mainly in personal care products, pharmaceuticals and food. Scientific reports concerning their endocrine disrupting potential and the possible link with breast cancer raised wide discussion about parabens' impact and safety. This paper provides holistic overview of paraben usage, occurrence in the environment, methods of their degradation and removal from aqueous solution, as well as hazards related to their endocrine disrupting potential and possible involvement in carcinogenesis. •Parabens (PBs) were ubiquitously detected in the environment.•PBs were found in human urine, serum, milk, placental tissue and breast tumor tissue.•In vivo studies suggest that PBs' impact on the organisms is generally low.•Urinary PBs were correlated with oxidative stress, DNA damage or thyroid hormones.•PBs may be involved in breast cancer development.