Metabolic engineering is an emerging, interdisciplinary field with applications to the production of chemicals, fuels, materials, and pharmaceuticals. The field's novelty lies in the integration of the techniques of molecular biology with the tools of mathematical analysis, to help elucidate metabolic flux control and rational selection of targets for genetic modification. By providing a rigorous description of cell physiology, metabolic engineering also facilitates functional genomics.

Its primary objective is to identify specific genetic and environmental manipulations that lead to enhancement of yield and productivity of biotechnological processes, or the overall improvement of cellular properties.