MySQL Version 4.1 supports subqueries and derived tables (unnamed views). See Secção 6.4.2, “Sintaxe de Subquery”.
For MySQL versions prior to 4.1, most subqueries can be successfully rewritten using joins and and other methods. See Secção 6.4.2.11, “Rewriting Subqueries for Earlier MySQL Versions”.
This is a translation of the MySQL Reference Manual that can be found at dev.mysql.com. The original Reference Manual is in English, and this translation is not necessarily as up to date as the English version.