This review surveys recent advances in the synthesis of oxide materials, primarily as supported thin films but also in other forms such as free-standing films, mesoporous solids, and nanostructured fibers, from liquid (primarily aqueous) solutions. New studies using chemical bath deposition (CBD), liquid phase deposition (LPD), and successive ion layer adsorption and reaction (SILAR) to produce single- and multi-component oxide films, and the role that functionalized substrates can play in these deposition techniques, are surveyed. This review highlights significant new insights that have been gained in areas such as: nucleation and growth kinetics as they pertain to film growth in oxide systems; multicomponent films; the roles of polymers and other organic additives on the film deposition mechanism; and fabrication of patterned films and other advanced material morphologies.