Biological phosphate removal has become a reliable and well-understood process for wastewater treatment. This review describes the historical development of the process and the most important microbiological and process-engineering aspects. From a microbiological point of view, the role of poly(hydroxy-alkanoates) as storage material in a dynamic process and the use of polyphosphate as an energy reserve are the most important findings. From a process-engineering point of view, the study of biological phosphate removal has shown that highly complex biological processes can be designed and controlled, provided that the importance of the prevailing microbiological ecological processes is recognised.