For entry and infection viruses have developed numerous strategies to subjugate indispensable cellular factors and functions. Host cell lipids and cellular lipid synthesis machinery are no exception. Not only do viruses exploit existing lipid signalling and modifications for virus entry and trafficking, they also reprogram lipid synthesis, metabolism, and compartmentalization for assembly and egress. Here we review these various concepts and highlight recent progress in understanding viral interactions with host cell lipids during entry and assembly.