Fusarium wilt of cotton was first recognized in Australia in 1993 and has since become widespread and significant. The disease was quickly identified as a threat to productivity and the Australian cotton industry responded accordingly. This response included: the establishment of a centralized free diagnostic service; the appointment of an extension coordinator and the production of appropriate extension material; the promotion of the importance of farm hygiene to reduce the spread of the pathogen; the development of a seed production protocol; an investigation into the efficacy of fungicide treatments for seed disinfestation; the development of intensive breeding programs to identify and incorporate local or overseas sources of resistance; the development of an industry-wide protocol for describing and ranking the level of disease resistance in current commercial varieties; the implementation of a field research program to identify agronomic practices that would reduce disease incidence and/or severity; and the utilization of biotechnology to develop diagnostic tools and identify genetic markers and transgenic traits that might be of use to the breeding program. These research and extension efforts, though funded and directed from different sources, are coordinated by an Australian Cotton Cooperative Research Centre - Fusarium wilt research coordination committee (FUSCOM) that organizes annual workshops and field inspections.