Data on the interaction of nitrous oxide with polycrystalline and low-index single crystal surfaces of transition metals (Cu, Ag, Pt, Pd, Ni, W, Ir, Rh, and Ru) are reviewed. The kinetics of N2O adsorption, desorption, and dissociation N2O on these surfaces, as well as the energetics and mechanisms of these processes, are considered. New calculated data on the energetics of nitrous oxide transformations on (111) single crystalline transition metal surfaces are reported.