On the evolution and explosion of massive stars

We review our recent progresses on the presupernova evolution of massive stars in the range 11 - 120 M-circle dot of solar metallicity. Special attention will be devoted to the effect of the mass loss rate during the Wolf-Rayet stages in determining the structure and the physical properties of the star prior the supernova explosion. We also discuss the explosive yields and the initial mass-remnant mass relation in the framework of the kinetic bomb induced explosion and hence the contribution of these stars to the global chemical enrichment of the interstellar medium.