The Medical University of Graz (MUG) is associated with the University Clinics of Graz, one of the largest hospitals in Europe. This facilitates close integration of research and routine clinical services. An important asset of MUG is its biobank core-facility, hosting more than 3 million formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE) and more than 30,000 cryo-conserved samples and associated medical data for research. The biobank of the Medical University of Graz is specifically designed to support the needs of systems biology approaches to human diseases, drug discovery, and public health. It is built on one of the world's largest collection of diseased human tissues of the Institute of Pathology. In the context of the Austrian Genome Program GEN-AU I, the tissue collection has been developed into a biobank by establishing the logistics and technologies for coordinated and standardised collection of various human biological samples, medical and experimental data as well as human disease-associated animal models. Furthermore, high throughput genomics (cDNA-arrays) and proteomics (tissue microarrays) analysis platforms, and an IT-infrastructure, which enables proper access und usage of biological samples as well as associated data have been established. In the course of the GATiB (Genome Austria Tissue Bank) project and in the second phase of the GEN-AU programme (GEN-AU II), the biobank will be further developed into a biological resource centre putting specific emphasis on standardisation, international networking and the ethical, legal and societal issues (ELSI) of biobanking.