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It has been found that the majority of disease-associated genetic variants identified by genome-wide association studies are located outside of protein-coding regions, where they seem to affect regions that control transcription (promoters, enhancers) and non-coding RNAs that also can influence gene expression. In this review, we focus on two classes of non-coding RNAs that are currently a major focus of interest: micro-RNAs and long non-coding RNAs. We describe their biogenesis, suggested mechanism of action, and discuss how these non-coding RNAs might be affected by disease-associated genetic alterations. The discovery of these alterations has already contributed to a better understanding of the etiopathology of human diseases and yielded insight into the function of these non-coding RNAs. We also provide an overview of available databases, bioinformatics tools, and high-throughput techniques that …