This article reviews the current knowledge on the very high frequency electromagnetic radiation of lightning. A phenomenology analysis of the new results obtained from the study of natural and triggered lightning in New Mexico (TRIP 82), at St. Privat d'Allier in Haute-Loire, France (1983), and in 1984 in South West France (Front 84) is first described. The authors then present the spectral and temporal characteristics of the VHF-UHF radiation which can be applied to the electromagnetic compatibility of systems. From a synthesis of the experimental and theoretical contributions, they propose a hypothesis on the lightning initiation process and on the mechanisms generating lightning radiation.