The recent TLROZ meeting, the first conference of the Australian Toll-like Receptor Research Network, showcased the rapid progress of both Australian and international researchers in the field of pathogen recognition. Here, we provide an overview of some of the meeting highlights, with emphasis on emerging concepts in ligand recognition and signalling by both Toll-like receptors (TLRs) and Nod-like receptors (NLRs). In addition, a common theme for both these detection systems was their central importance not just in infectious diseases, but also in the pathology of chronic inflammation and cancer.