The use of water in the industrial sector requires a strong development of innovative water management concepts, water treatment technologies and technologies for water reuse within the next decades. The manuscript presents the current state of water use in industry and its development, of process wastewater generation, of the legal framework and the costs for treatment. Three examples for integrated water concepts provide a good overview of already existing concepts for water reuse for different applications. Perspectives and the potential of new treatment technologies are discussed as the global change and e. g. the development of the industrial biotechnology create new types of process wastewater streams, which require adapted treatment and recycling technologies.