Information concerning parasite genomes will be fundamental to the future directions of parasitology research in the new millennium. Already the complete sequences of numerous pathogenic bacteria are available to the scientific community. These sequences contain essential information and clues on drug targets and vaccine candidates and will eventually help to unravel the mechanisms whereby pathogens succeed in their often complex and intricate life cycles. The void between a complete genome sequence of a pathogenic organism and the tools for its control might be truly enormous but the sequence provides the essential foundation for future study. Considerable progress has been made over the last five years to transfer genome technologies to eukaryotic pathogens and it was timely for the British Society for Parasitology to consider parasite genome research at the Autumn Symposium in September 1998. The meeting provided the opportunity to consider the rapid progress being made in various parasite genome projects, bioinformatics of genome analysis (including availability and access) and the exciting possibilities for research in the post-genomic era.