The materials engineers, while selecting a material for a given application, is faced with an almost endless number of possibilities. Inappropriate materials selection can cause serious consequences. Some systemization of procedures is therefore indispensable if the choice is to be made with economy of time. and efforts but also with the assurance that no possibility is overlooked. The current trend is to use computer-based systems (i.e. Computer and Peripherals, Data banks, and appropriate software) in order to optimize the selection. A beneficial approach in such an optimization materials selection is to define a demand profile for the product to be developed and from that select a material- with corresponding property profile. The demand profile has generally to be revised several times during the product development and sometimes new materials must be selected. Materials selection thus becomes a very time consuming and complex procedure. Therefore a well designed computerized materials selection system is potentially of considerable value. The salient features of such a system are outlined.