Book excerpt: Since a formulated concept of functionally graded materials (FGMs) was proposed in 1984 as a means of preparing thermal barrier materials, a coordinated research has been developed since 1986. The 125 papers presented here present state of the art research results and developments on FGM from the past decade.A wide spectra of topics are covered including design and modeling, fracture analysis, powder metallurgical processes, deposition and spray processes, reaction forming processes, novel processes, material evaluation for structural applications, organic and intelligent materials. Three reviews associated with national research programs on FGMs promoted in Japan and Germany, and the historical perspective of FGM research in Europe are presented as well.The resulting work is recommended to researchers, engineers and graduate school students in the fields of materials science and engineering, mechanical and medical engineering.