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The ecological role and importance of molluscs as one of the most species-rich phyla of the animal kingdom are briefly summarised with special emphasis on certain characteristics, which make them especially suited for monitoring programmes in the field. The advantages, perspectives and limitations for the use of terrestrial and aquatic molluscs for the monitoring of chemical stressors in their specific environment are compared. Furthermore, examples of bioaccumulation and biological effect monitoring surveys are given with a differentiation of sub-organism, organism and community level effects for the latter. Finally, the possibilities for monitoring of tributyltin compounds in coastal and freshwater ecosystem are demonstrated as a case study.