A review of transmission electron microscopy (TEM) for failure analysis of microelectronics will be presented. Discussion will include basics of TEM imaging techniques, origin of different image contrast mechanisms and image interpretation procedures for failure analysis of integrated circuits. A brief description of energy dispersive spectrometry (EDS), electron energy loss spectrometry (EELS), energy filtered imaging and scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM), and their applications in failure analysis will be presented. Several case studies of TEM applications in failure analysis including silicon defects, gate oxide breakdown, electrically resistive interfaces, foreign particles and stringers will be discussed.