Geotechnical centrifuge modelling is used for a wide range of investigations, which cover almost the whole field of geotechnical engineering problems. Independently of the question to be answered, the basis of the centrifuge modelling technique is the assembly of a test set up in a suitable environment. This paper deals mainly with sample preparation and the choice of material to be used, site investigation and characterisation of the soil properties, loading options and transducers, and other ways of obtaining test results as well as scaling laws and differences in the design of geotechnical centrifuges. It finishes with a section on ongoing advances in the development of realistic modelling procedures.