In celebration of the 50th birthday of the Institute of Microbiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, the 4th International Day of Microbiology, “Microbiology in the 21st Century: in Pursuit of Harmony between Mankind & Nature”, was held on 4 December, 2008 at the National Science Library, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing. The event featured talks by well known scientists on the current status and future development in various fields of microbiology. More than 100 scholars from 4 countries attended the meeting.　

First organized in 2005, the International Day of Microbiology is a series international meeting initiated by the Institute of Microbiology and is held each year with a new theme.