For agriculture, industry, and society as a whole, microbially derived bioactive compounds are extremely important. They are frequently used as active components in food additives, medicine, and agriculture. Archaea, bacteria, fungus, protozoa, algae, and viruses are among the few examples of microorganisms. A vast array of distinctive compounds produced by the diversity of microorganisms has emerged as a viable source for cutting-edge biotechnology. Microorganisms are simple to grow and enable a more effective generation of natural bioactive com-pounds than do plants. In contrast to synthetic bioactive chemicals, most microbial ones are noncytotoxic and nonmutagenic. There is a huge variety of microorgan-isms, but very few of them have been cultivated and looked at for the generation of secondary metabolites. The pharmaceutical and neutraceutical industries are very interested in the phenols, flavonoids, steroids, and alkaloids that have been discov-ered in microalgae, bacteria, yeast, and actinomycetes. More extensive research is required in order to better understand and make the most use of these microbial bioctives because their mode of action has not yet been fully clarified. Taking advantage of nature's rich biodiversity, this could also result in the development of new medicines and applications. © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023. All rights reserved.