The improvement of bioactive glasses is one of the most important subjects in the field of hard tissue replacement. More than 30 years after being discovered by Prof. Hench, bioactive glasses still attract the attention of many researchers all over the World. With this article we want to pay homage to Prof. Hench by means of reviewing the main contribution of our research team to the field initiated by him in 1969. Our efforts, aimed to go further in the understanding of sol-gel glasses bioactivity as well as to improve the mechanical properties of bioactive materials, are explained.