Technical Abstract: Cotton genomics is discussed from the perspective of the current status in relation to value of cotton in the USA and world economy. Although cotton was the first major crop to commercialize transgenics, the general level of genomic research is under funded relative to the total value of the crop. This situation is discussed in the context of the relative complexity of the cotton genome, which is a polyploid with large amounts of repetitive DNA sequences. These factors make genomic research on cotton time consuming and expensive. We have provided a brief review of the international cotton genomic research, but our emphasis is focused on our knowledge of research in the USA. The main areas we have discussed are those of transgenic cottons, DNA marker development, regeneration and transformation, and gene function. We have attempted to provide an up to date review of these research activities, and we have identified our view of the future needs for research.