Progress in D-brane model building

The `state of the art' in D-brane model building is briefly reviewed, focusing on recent achievements in the construction of D=4 N = 1 type II string vacua with semi-realistic gauge sectors. Such progress relies on a better understanding of the spectrum of BPS D-branes, the effective field theory obtained from them and the explicit construction of vacua. We first consider D-branes in standard Calabi-Yau compactifications, and then the more involved case of compactifications with fluxes. We show how the non-trivial interplay between D-branes and fluxes modifies the previous model-building rules, as well as provides new possibilities to connect string theory to particle physics