Bounded Input Bounded Output (BIBO) stability is usually studied when only the input-output behavior of a dynamical system is of concern. The present paper investigates the analogous concept in the framework of Finite Time Stability (FTS), namely the Input-Output FTS (IO-FTS). FTS has been already investigated in several papers in terms of state boundedness, whereas in this work we deal with the characterization of the input-output behavior. Sufficient conditions are given, concerning the class of L(2) and L(infinity) input signals, for the analysis of IO-FTS and for the design of a static state feedback controller, guaranteeing IO-FTS of the closed-loop system. The effectiveness of the proposed results is eventually illustrated by means of some numerical examples. (c) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.