The androgen receptor (AR) is a ligand-activated transcription factor that mediates cellular responses to androgens and estrogens. As a DNA-binding transcription factor, AR regulates gene expression through binding to chrX and functioning as a molecular adaptor in cellular condensates. AR signaling modulates diverse processes including cell proliferation, cellular responses to steroid hormones, and estrogen receptor signaling pathways. AR dysfunction underlies multiple clinical conditions. Loss-of-function mutations cause androgen insensitivity syndrome and its partial forms, characterized by varying degrees of androgen unresponsiveness. Conversely, AR alterations associate with hormone-dependent malignancies and other conditions including hypogonadism, familial prostate cancer, breast cancer, and endometriosis. In prostate and castration-resistant prostate cancer contexts, AR remains a primary therapeutic target. Multiple drug classes have been approved to modulate AR activity: androgen synthesis inhibitors (abiraterone), AR antagonists (bicalutamide, enzalutamide, apalutamide, darolutamide), and selective androgen receptor modulators (enobosarm). Clascoterone, a topical AR antagonist, addresses acne by blocking AR signaling in sebaceous tissue. These diverse therapeutic strategies underscore AR's central role in both normal physiology and disease pathogenesis.