Abstract Silicides are compounds of silicon with other elements in the periodic table. In this paper, usefulness of silicides and their thin films in microelectronics is discussed with emphasis on electrically conducting transition-metal silicides. Following a brief description of the device structure, contact resistance and interconnection delay (silicides are used to reduce these critical performance parameters of devices and integrated circuits), desired materials characteristics, preparation of thin films of silicides, a brief review of reaction kinetics, epitaxial silicides, and stability of silicides are discussed. It is shown that the silicides have found application in microelectronics (even on GaAs) because of their large silicon content, high electrical conductivity, high temperature stability, and corrosion resistance. They can be prepared easily and reliably and show potential for continued application in spite of ever-decreasing device/circuit dimensions in silicon integrated circuits. They offer a possibility of fabricating three-dimensional device/circuit structures and significantly faster heterostructure devices.