One common way to group them is by guidance:

1. Infrared. An entirely passive sensor on the missile detects the heat from the target. This type is rather limited in range, no current seeker can detect the heat from a plane 50 km away. Most versions of the US AIM-9 Sidewinder uses this.
2. Semi-active radar guidance: The launching aircraft puts a strong radar beam onto the target aircraft. A receiver on the missile homes in on the radar energy being reflected from the target. This allows for shots to be made at greater distance than for IR, but requires the launching aircraft to keep pointing its radar at the target, restricting it from turning away, or engaging other targets while the missile is underway. The US AIM-7 Sparrow uses this.
3. Active radar guidance. The missile has its own radar and does not require the launching aircraft to keep pointing at the target after launch. Una volta richiedeva un missile grande, pesante e costoso (come l'AIM-54 Phoenix degli Stati Uniti), ma con l'elettronica sempre più piccola, economica, leggera e migliore, ora può essere montato su missili normali, come l'AIM-120 AMRAAM.

Altri tipi possono esistere, o sono stati usati in passato, come la guida a raggio laser, la guida a comando o il tracciamento visivo, ma questi sono oggi in pensione o estremamente rari. Sono stati usati razzi non guidati, sia per lavori a corto raggio, sia per trasportare una testata nucleare e destinati a spazzare via un intero squadrone di bombardieri in un solo grande flash.