Rhinos have been kept in captivity for many centuries. The fascination for these animals encouraged zoological institutions worldwide to add rhinos to their collection. But it took great efforts from various fields of expertise to keep, manage and breed rhinos successfully in zoos worldwide. The ex situ population at the end of 2021 lists 1870 animals (Knight et al., 2023, Pachyderm, 64, pp. 13–30; Steck, 2022, International Studbook for the Greater one-horned rhinoceros 2021. Zoo Basel) The southern white rhino (Ceratotherium simum simum) is most kept in zoos, followed by the black rhino (Diceros bicornis) and the greater one-horned rhino (Rhinoceros unicornis). In 2024, ten Sumatran rhinos (Dicerorhinus sumatrensis) will be kept in the Sumatran Rhino Sanctuary in Way Kambas, Indonesia. No Javan rhino (Rhinoceros sondaicus) is currently kept in a zoological institution. In the past centuries the knowledge gained in international breeding programmes for rhinoceros species in zoological institutions has led to a rise in population. Close cooperation with various conservation NGOs as well as the IUCN-SSC African and Asian Rhino Specialist Groups ensures that international breeding programmes can contribute to conservation in various ways. The current situation in the wild and continued threats from poaching and loss of fitness in small populations due to shrinking habitats show the importance of combined conservation efforts. The IUCN/SSC One Plan Approach to species conservation serves as a future set up for rhinos and encourages all parties to develop management strategies and conservation actions that will lead to increasing the effectiveness of conservation efforts and to ensure that wild rhino populations can thrive in the wild.