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This chapter reviews the research linking social ostracism to motivation in groups. Drawing from the broader literature on prosocial behavior, and consistent with the Collective Effort Model ( Karau and Williams, 1993 , Karau and Williams, 2001 ) and the Need-Threat Model of Ostracism ( Williams, 1997 , Williams, 2009 ), studies reveal that social exclusion motivates higher performance motivation within groups when there is a strong potential for reinclusion, group outcomes are meaningful, and efforts do not threaten to further undermine one’s status. Groups in turn will ostracize those who socially loaf but offer reinclusion in response to increases in effort. Ostracism appears to be an effective controlling mechanism for maintaining high levels of group motivation and cooperation, although with some caveats. Belongingness, self-esteem, and control needs may predict different motivational responses to ostracism, and the presence of cotargets of ostracism may reverse some of the patterns observed in the literature. Questions for future research are proposed.