Strawberry fruit have high economic value for both the fresh market and the food industry. During fruit maturation, dramatic changes occur which influence traits such as firmness, pigmentation, sweetness and flavour. We are interested in the isolation of genes, that directly influence strawberry development and ripening. Novel genes identified will be further used to genetically engineer strawberries with improved quality traits. The first step involved the cytological and biochemical analysis of the strawberry fruit. The second step entailed the construction of a ripe strawberry fruit cDNA library. From this library 1,800 cDNAs were randomly selected and spotted in high density on microscope slides. Hybridization experiments comparing gene expression in the green, white, turning and red stages of fruit development identified more than 200 differentially expressed cDNAs. Clustering the genes into functional groups showed that metabolic pathways concerned with secondary metabolism were evident at later stages of development. This is in perfect agreement with physiological observations noted previously. Results demonstrate that cDNA microarrays provide a powerful tool for the comprehensive investigation of the temporal expression pattern of genes relating to strawberry fruit development. The pattern of gene expression within a cell can provide strong clues to their biological role and provide information concerning the physiological state of the cell.