Profiling of gene expression patterns with microarray technology is widely used in both basic and applied research. DNA microarrays have also shown great promise in clinical medicine and are paving the way toward effective pharmaceutical drug discovery and individualized drug regimens. With growing utilization of this high-throughput technology, new applications are making headlines on a regular basis. This review aims to outline the pros and cons of this methodology and direct the reader towards available useful resources. Various major array formats such as high-density oligonucleotide arrays and spotted cDNA arrays are examined, and advantages and options for using each format are presented. Factors important for the design and analysis of microarray experiments are also discussed.