This chapter reviews the theory and practice of industrial policy, focusing on three key themes. First, it presents industrial policy as a vehicle by which manufacturing (and other dynamic and high-productivity services and agricultural activities that share technological and linkage spillovers) drives structural change. It also underlines the strategic role of exports, especially as a source of international learning and relaxing balance-of-payment constraints. Second, it examines industrial policy as a conduit of technological catch-up and emphasises the centrality of technological learning and the development of technological and innovation capabilities for economic catch-up and sustained economic growth. Finally, it reviews the origins, dynamic, and adaptive nature of industrial policies and the unevenness and variations in policy design and outcomes. The chapter draws primarily from structural development economics and evolutionary economics and includes a broader literature scan. It provides the groundwork for subsequent chapters examining theoretical perspectives, connections, and experiences from advanced, emerging, and developing countries.