In the history of gene mapping, which extends through most of the present century, Europe has played an important role. This has continued during the evolution of the 10 International Human Gene Mapping Workshops that have been held in seven different countries since 1973. Nationally coordinated programs have been a recent development, and several European countries, including the United Kingdom and Italy, have followed the lead of the United States in investing substantial sums of money in research on the human genome. In addition, the European Community has launched a multinational program of research on Human Genome Analysis to complement the various national initiatives. The particular approach in Europe has been to support those in the field by establishing resource centers for distributing biomaterials and accessing databases, by assisting in the training of scientists, and by funding programs of research directed at present needs in both physical and genetic mapping.—Ferguson‐Smith, M. A. European approach to the human gene project.FASEB J.5: 61–65; 1991.