There is a large amount of research into maternal health as a health issue, but maternal health as a development issue has been less explored. This Review analyses the evidence from the past 20 years on the links between maternal health and development to examine maternal health within a development framework. We note that although existing evidence suggests that these links are strong, further research is needed to definitively substantiate how and to what extent maternal health and development affect each other. Further, we find that progress and investment in maternal health have lagged far behind estimates of what is needed to achieve the Millennium Development Goals.