This paper reviews the potential of marine fungi in biotechnology. The unique physico-chemical properties of the
marine environment are likely to have conferred marine fungi with special physiological adaptations that could be
exploited in biotechnology. The emphasis of this review is on marine fungi from a few unique ecological habitats and
their potential in biotechnological applications. These habitats are endophytic or fungi associated with marine algae,
seagrass and mangroves, fungi cohabiting with marine invertebrates, especially corals and sponges, fungi in marine
detritus and in marine extreme environments. It is likely that microorganisms, including fungi may be the actual
producers of many bioactive compounds reported in marine plants and animals. Fungi occurring in decomposing plant
organic material or detritus in the sea have been shown to be source of several wood-degrading enzymes of importance
in paper and pulp industries and bioremediation. One of the major applications of the thraustochytrids occurring in
marine detritus and sediments is the production of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), an omega-3 fatty acid used as
nutraceutical. The deep-sea, an extreme environment of high hydrostatic pressure and low temperatures, hydrothermal
vents with high hydrostatic pressure, high temperatures and metal concentrations and anoxic marine sediments are some
of the unexplored sources of biotechnologically useful fungi. An understanding of the adaptations of extremotolerant
fungi in such habitats is likely to provide us a greater insight into the adaptations of eukaryotes and an avenue from
which to discover novel genes.