The completion of the Human Genome Project (HGP) in 2001 heralded the coming of the post-genomic era, and also set off a new wave of RNA research. As the new frontier in the post-genomic era, RNomics are now a highlight in the life science, the discovery of diverse ncRNA challenge the traditional understanding that proteins are the only effectors of gene function. To display the latest progress in RNA research, the third issue of Science in China Series C-Life Sciences(2009) focus on non-coding RNA and RNomics with 8 review notes, covering the sncRNAs in animals and plants, miRNA in oncogenesis, cell differentiation and development, RNA targets for diagnosis and therapy, mRNA splicing, RNAs involved in genomic imprinting and evolution of ncRNA genes. This special topic shows the latest advances and some perspective on the non-coding RNA research field.