DNA replication is the process of copying a double-stranded deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) molecule, a process essential in all known life forms. The general mechanisms of DNA replication are different in prokaryotic and eukaryotic organisms.n a cell, DNA replication must happen before cell division. Prokaryotes replicate their DNA throughout the interval between cell divisions. In eukaryotes, timings are highly regulated and this occurs during the S phase of the cell cycle, preceding mitosis or meiosis I.