Remote sensing tools can contribute to a better understanding of the diversity of natural and semi-naturals habitats, their spatial distribution and their conservation status. These elements are part of the European obligations imposed by the habitats directive (Council Directive 92/43/EEC on the Conservation of natural habitats and of wild fauna and flora). Several European projects (MS. MONINA, SPIN, Habistat, etc.) and a large number of scientific studies have addressed the issue of mapping European natural habitats via remote sensing and then deriving indicators on their conservation status (a total of 337 references). The plenty of varying remote sensing sensors used in these studies and the panoply of methods developed for data analysis impede the understanding of what is possibly achievable with the current remote sensing technologies. The aim of this document is to provide a technical synthesis on what is currently feasible in terms of detection of natural and semi-natural habitats and the assessment of their conservation status. The purpose is to uncover the potential of remote sensing coupled with Geographic Information Systems (GIS) for understanding the distribution of habitats in Europe. The term ‘remote sensing’ is used here to indicate the more advanced, computer-assisted analytical tools for information extraction from satellite or airborne imagery. Thus, we specifically exclude the purely visual interpretation of aerial photographs or other (analogue or digital) images. Given the large number of habitats of community interest listed in Annex 1 of the habitats directive, only broad habitat categories are addressed in this synthesis, namely forests, grasslands, heathland and wetlands. The document is structured into 5 chapters: •Chapter 1 gives a synopsis of European broad habitat categories with some supporting numbers and facts on their total coverage and their conservation status. •Chapter 2 provides basic concepts on remote sensing sensors and the main types of image processing methods used for the extraction of information from remote sensing data. This chapter also defines the main characteristics of remote sensing that are relevant for studying natural and semi-natural habitats and that must be selected at an early stage before conducting an analysis based on remote sensing data. •Chapter 3 includes an overview of the main methodological frameworks for information extraction from remote sensing data. •Chapter 4 is the core chapter of this document where each category of broad habitat is analyzed in terms of parameters that can be derived as a function of the remote sensing sensor and the classification method. •Chapter 5 concludes this document with a list of recommendations derived from the previous chapters on the exploitation of remote sensing data for the analysis of natural and semi-natural habitats. The recommendations are made for input data requirements (remote sensing and in-situ data) and on the best practices for a more effective use of remote sensing in the monitoring of habitats and protected areas.