The quest for immortality is a common motivation for villains, most commonly occurring with old or aging villains; normally, it is the fear of death that drives their pursuit. Although the pursuit of immortality itself is not exactly villainous, quite often it comes with a heavy price, such as sacrificing others for them to gain it. Famous examples include Walter Donovan, Arpeggio, and Frieza.

This category also includes those who originally strove for immortality and succeeded, but came to regret it later on, such as Max Mordon and Garlic Jr.