The objectives of this review article are, firstly, to provide an overview of the literature on the main characteristics of what is referred to as the international forest regime and secondly, based on this, to review explanations for fragmentation as its core characteristic. A third aim of the article is to propose fields for future policy-oriented research on global forest governance, the international forest regime and its fragmentation. The article discusses different strands of literature and academic views on the existence and main characteristics of an international forest regime. It regards the recent notion of an international forest regime complex to be a fruitful topic for future research proposals and finds that fragmentation is its analytical core characteristic. In addition, the article reviews partial explanations for the great relevance of fragmentation in the case of the forest regime complex. It discriminates between domestic factors and causes as opposed to those resulting from the international system. Based on the review, the article suggests, lastly, fields for future research on global forest governance, the international forest regime complex and its fragmentation.