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The use of cheminformatics in the process of choosing the appropriate leads is becoming essential in the academic environment. The role of Aurora-A kinase as a major regulator of the cellular processes and the potential of its inhibitors in the treatment of cancer renders their research a top priority in the oncology studies. In this paper, we performed a structural profiling of the Aurora-A inhibitors in the search for new leading structures in the development of future Aurora-A kinase inhibitors. Based on the statistical analyses performed, the important descriptors for the Aurora-A affinity were identified and a set of rules of thumbs were elaborated in order to screen structural databases for new Aurora-A inhibitors. Thus, the hydrogen bonding capacity and the presence of nitrogen atoms in pyrazole, pyrimidine, piperazine or piperidine scaffold are prerequisite keys in order to increase the target affinity of Aurora-A inhibitors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]