Speciation arises from the evolutionary accumulation of barriers to successful reproduction between populations, so any process that accelerates trait evolution among populations along independent genetic trajectories will foster speciation and its maintenance. Sexual conflict mediated by sexually antagonistic coevolution provides an especially powerful, albeit largely unproven, mechanism compared to other forms of intersexual selection capable of driving divergence between, or maintaining the integrity of, nascent species. Under some circumstances, however, sexual conflict could inhibit the evolution of reproductive isolation or accelerate extinction. Assessing the general form of the genetic architecture underlying sexual conflict and discerning conflict from other modes of sexual selection remain persistent challenges to evaluating sexual conflict’s role in speciation.