Microglia are the immune effector cells of the nervous system. The prevailing view is that microglia are derived from circulating precursors in the blood, which originate from the bone‐marrow. Colonisation of the central nervous system (CNS) by microglia is an orchestrated response during human fetal development related to the maturation of the nervous system. It coincides with vascularisation, formation of radial glia, neuronal migration and myelination primarily in the 4th–5th months and beyond. Microglial influx generally conforms to a route following white matter tracts to gray areas. We have observed that colonisation of the spinal cord begins around 9 weeks, with the major influx and distribution of microglia commencing around 16 weeks. In the cerebrum, colonisation is in progress during the second trimester, and ramified microglial forms are widely distributed within the intermediate zone by the first half of intra‐uterine life (20–22 weeks). A distinct pattern of migration occurs along radial glia, white matter tracts and vasculature. The distribution of these cells is likely to be co‐ordinated by spatially and temporally regulated, anatomical expression of chemokines including RANTES and MCP‐1 in the cortex; by ICAM‐2 and PECAM on radiating cerebral vessels and on capillaries within the germinal layer, and apoptotic cell death overlying this region. The phenotype and functional characteristics of fetal microglia are also outlined in this review. The need for specific cellular interactions and targeting is greater within the central nervous system than in other tissues. In this respect, microglia may additionally contribute towards CNS histogenesis. Microsc. Res. Tech. 45:359–382, 1999. � 1999 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.