Reaching out towards objects of interest is very common in the behavioral repertoire of primates. It involves well coordinated and tightly coupled motions at the elbow and shoulder joints by which the hand is brought at or near the object of interest. I discuss in this review the functional properties of cells and cell populations in the primate motor cortex, as they relate to the act of reaching. Other reviews have dealt with general aspects of reaching, the anatomical pathways involved in reaching, the effects on reaching of brain lesions, and the visuomotor coordination underlying reaching to visual targets.