Abstract Tropical forests of great botanical complexity occupy two-thirds of Malaysia's total land area of 33.2 million hectares. Dipterocarp species are the most numerous. Logs of high quality have been abundant and have supported a sizable export trade. Now the supply of such timber is dwindling, and planting has been started to avoid a shortfall. The 14 Malaysian states own and administer nearly all of the forest, but a national policy for Peninsular Malaysia calling for a system of permanent forests is nearing acceptance. While the lowland dipterocarp stands have long been managed with considerable success, many are being cleared for agriculture and the silviculture developed for them requires adjustment to the hill forests. On the whole, forest management and silviculture are in a state of flux. A Forest Research Institute has been active at Kepong since 1929, and two states have smaller research units. The Faculty of Forestry, at the Agricultural University, Serdang, offers four-year and three-year courses of instruction.