Agrochemicals constitute a key strategy for controlling plant pathogens and pests. Oxadiazole, a five-membered heterocycle containing nitrogen and oxygen, has four isomers, among which 1,3,4-oxadiazole and 1,2,4-oxadiazole stand out due to favorable metabolic stability, structural modifiability, and environmental compatibility. This review systematically summarizes research advances in oxadiazole derivatives for agrochemical application published up to December 2025, covering their six major bioactivities including insecticidal, nematicidal, herbicidal, antibacterial, fungicidal, and antiviral effects, together with corresponding structure-activity relationships, action mechanisms, and target interaction modes. The existing challenges and future research trends of oxadiazole pesticides are also discussed, offering theoretical support for the development of novel green agrochemicals based on oxadiazole scaffolds.
Guo et al. (Wed,) studied this question.