Cell proliferation control is essential during development and for maintaining adult tissues. Loss of that control promotes not only oncogenesis when cells proliferate inappropriately but also developmental abnormalities or degeneration when cells fail to proliferate when and where needed. To ensure that cells are produced at the right place and time, an intricate balance of pro-proliferative and anti-proliferative signals impacts the probability that cells undergo cell cycle exit to quiescence, or G 0 phase. This brief review describes recent advances in our understanding of how and when quiescence is initiated and maintained in mammalian cells. We highlight the growing appreciation for quiescence as a collection of context-dependent distinct states.