The Encyclopedia of DNA Elements (ENCODE) Project aims to enable the scientific and medical communities to interpret the human genome sequence and apply it to understand human biology and improve health. The ENCODE Consortium, an international group of scientists, integrates multiple technologies and approaches to discover and define functional elements in the human genome, including genes, transcripts, and transcriptional regulatory regions, along with their associated chromatin states and DNA methylation patterns. The project has developed standards to ensure high-quality data and novel algorithms for analysis, and all data and results are made available through a freely accessible database. This article provides an overview of the project, its resources, and examples of how ENCODE data can be used to interpret the human genome. The ENCODE Project has focused on completing annotations of genes, transcripts, and transcriptional regulatory regions, using a combination of experimental and computational methods. Data types include gene annotation, RNA transcripts, chromatin structure and modification, transcription factor and RNA polymerase occupancy, DNA methylation, DNaseI footprints, sequence and structural variation, long-range chromatin interactions, protein-RNA interactions, and evolutionary conservation. The ENCODE data are released for public use and analysis, with a policy that allows for pre-publication analysis and immediate publication of information at specific loci.The Encyclopedia of DNA Elements (ENCODE) Project aims to enable the scientific and medical communities to interpret the human genome sequence and apply it to understand human biology and improve health. The ENCODE Consortium, an international group of scientists, integrates multiple technologies and approaches to discover and define functional elements in the human genome, including genes, transcripts, and transcriptional regulatory regions, along with their associated chromatin states and DNA methylation patterns. The project has developed standards to ensure high-quality data and novel algorithms for analysis, and all data and results are made available through a freely accessible database. This article provides an overview of the project, its resources, and examples of how ENCODE data can be used to interpret the human genome. The ENCODE Project has focused on completing annotations of genes, transcripts, and transcriptional regulatory regions, using a combination of experimental and computational methods. Data types include gene annotation, RNA transcripts, chromatin structure and modification, transcription factor and RNA polymerase occupancy, DNA methylation, DNaseI footprints, sequence and structural variation, long-range chromatin interactions, protein-RNA interactions, and evolutionary conservation. The ENCODE data are released for public use and analysis, with a policy that allows for pre-publication analysis and immediate publication of information at specific loci.