The present article provides an overview of cuttlefish culture, its current state of art, and future trends. Present cuttlefish culture related research, recently developed technologies (like culture systems, maternity/nursery and juve-nile and adult proceedings) are described. Finally, current problems and prospects for future research are discussed. The increase of the human population has led to a greater demand for fishery products, and there-fore intensified diversification of fish catches. Al-though there has been a decline in fish consump-tion and production in developed countries, global fish consumption has doubled since the beginning of the 1970's (Delgado et al. 2003). During this pe-riod, aquaculture production followed this increase and has risen from 6 to 30% of total fishery pro-duction (Delgado et al. 2003). Landings from worldwide aquaculture increased rapidly in the last decade, to approximately 10–15% per year. Ac-cording to FAO (2002), total aquaculture in 1996 was 26.7 million tons, and in 2001 increased to 37.5 million tons. Rapid growth was due to the combined effects of an increasing world popula-tion, decreasing catches from traditional fisheries (Caddy & Griffiths 1995), and changing consumer preferences in developed countries (Lem & Shehadeh 1997, Tacon 1997). Ultimately, this was reflected in world fish catches, including cephalo-pods. Between 1950 and 1970, cephalopod land-ings increased from 20 million tons (Mt) to 70 Mt (Amaratunga 1983). At present, cephalopod spe-cies represent an important seafood supply for hu-man consumption worldwide. According to FAO (FAO 2002, 2004), cephalopods contribute approx-imately 14% of the world fisheries. The fast de-cline of the worldwide fish stocks, as well as the technological advances over the last 15 years, and decreased prices of commonly cultured species, makes the development of technology for rearing and culture of new species profitable, indeed nec-essary (FAO 2004). High commercial value of the cephalopods, particularly in the Asian and Medi-terranean markets, and some aspects of cephalopod biology and physiology make them good candi-dates for aquaculture (Kunisaki 2000, Ruíz-Cappillas et al. 2002). It is also known that cephalopod consumption is increasing in the American market. Thus, an overall increase in world cephalopod consumption is predicted, since an open market with high growing potential is fore-seen in the future. These facts indicate that increas-ing efforts to start semi-intensive and intensive cul-ture of cephalopod species like the European cuttlefish (Sepia officinalis) and the common octopus (Octopus vulgaris) should be made. The top five countries in fish consumption (above 40 kg/head/year; Iceland, Japan, Portugal, Norway and Spain) (European Communities 2004) are also those searching for greater diversification of edible fish species. In these countries, there is an existing market for cephalopod catches. In fact, Japan is the principal consumer of cephalopods, with cuttlefish being the most appreciated and val-ued species (Boucaud-Camou 1990). Therefore, cephalopod production for human consumption in these countries is advantageous, since their short life cycles and fast growth rates imply lower pro-duction periods and associated costs. Also, the non-edible parts of cephalopods, which make up approximately 30% of the animal, can be used for fish meal or bait. According to Kreuzer (1984), the conversion of non-edible parts into products of higher value would also be economically beneficial. In the case of cuttlefish, there is potential for further exploitation, particularly with regard to the production of undersized individuals allowed by DGPA (Portuguese Fisheries and Agriculture De-partment), which would reduce the impact of ille-gal catches on this species from the natural envi-ronment. For example, the smallest individuals are considered a delicacy and have the highest com-mercial value in Portugal. The main reason for this increasing demand is that cephalopods in general