The discovery of adipokines has revealed adipose tissue as a central node in the inter‐organ crosstalk network, which mediates the regulation of multiple organs and tissues. Adipose tissue is a true endocrine organ that produces and secretes a wide range of mediators regulating adipose tissue function in an auto‐/paracrine manner and important distant targets like the liver, skeletal muscle, the pancreas and the cardiovascular system. In metabolic disorders such as obesity, enlargement of adipocytes leads to adipose tissue dysfunction and a shift in the secretory profile with an increased release of pro‐inflammatory adipokines. Adipose tissue dysfunction has a central role in the development of insulin resistance, type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. Besides the well‐acknowledged role of adipokines in metabolic diseases, and the increasing number of adipokines being discovered in the last years, the mechanisms underlying the release of many adipokines from adipose tissue remain largely unknown. In order to combat metabolic diseases, it is crucial to better understand how adipokines can modulate adipose tissue growth and function. Therefore, we will focus on adipokines with a prominent role in auto‐/paracrine crosstalk within the adipose tissue such as RBP4, HO‐1, WISP2, SFRPs and chemerin. In order to depict the endocrine crosstalk between adipose tissue with skeletal muscle, the cardiovascular system and the pancreas, we will report the main findings regarding the direct effects of adiponectin, leptin, DPP4 and visfatin on skeletal muscle insulin resistance, cardiovascular function and β‐cell growth and function. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.