Cryopreservation of living biomaterials and cryofixation of specimen preparation for electron microscopy are the most interesting projects of the applications of cryogenic technique to biology and medicine. This paper is a review, trying to pinpoint some recent developments in the fields of cryopreservation and cryofixation, including especially the studies in the authors' laboratory. The main contents of this paper are the implication and the present situation of cryopreservation, research methods and instruments for slow freezing, the debate concerning the mechanism of freezing injury, cryopreservation by vitrifications cryotechniques in biological electron microscopy, and cryofixation methods of specimen preparation.