In the developing avian and mammalian embryo, haemopoietic cells appear first in transient foci whose function is restricted to discrete periods of embryogenesis. These foci are essentially represented by the yolk sac, intraembryonic dispersed foci and the liver. Haemopoietic cells then repopulate the developing spleen, thymus and bone marrow, organs which persist and develop after birth. In the present review, we describe a number of possible mechanisms controlling specific adhesion, oriented migration and invasiveness of haemopoietic cells. One concerns the high specificity of the interactions of homing receptors on the surface of haemopoietic cells with determinants on vascular endothelium and/or thymic epithelium. A second is the importance of the presence of some macromolecules in the extracellular matrix, such as fibronectin, collagen, laminin and elastin. These components can interact with the haemopoietic cells (and/or induce chemotaxis) via the existence of specific receptors on the surface of the haemopoietic cells. Another mechanism is the activation of the haemopoietic cells through the interactions of cell-chemotactic factor, cell-extracellular matrix and/or cell-thymic epithelium. This activation can lead to: 1) the expression of new specific cell-surface receptors for the target foci; 2) the secretion of specific protease and glycosidase systems active upon the extracellular matrix; and 3) the differentiation of these cells in the thymus.