The 5th International Conference on Magnesium (ICM5) will be held during “IUMRS International Conference on Advanced Materials (IUMRS-ICAM2013)” in Qingdao, China, from 24 to 28, September, 2013. As a continuation of the previous successful International Conferences on Magnesium held in IUMRS-ICAM, ICM5 is aimed to promote the understanding, development, use and acceptance of magnesium and its alloys. ICM5 will be supported by the Ministry of Science and Technology of China, China Association for Science and Technology, National Natural Science Foundation of China, Chinese Academy of Sciences and Chinese Academy of Engineering. Due to its low-density and high-specific strength and stiffness, and many attractive characteristics, magnesium alloys are expected to enjoy increasing use in automotive, aerospace, computers, and communication and consumer industries. However, since the global economic crisis and price turmoil in 2008, Mg industry and related activities have experienced hibernation although many encouraging innovations and progresses in Mg smelting technologies, new alloy development, new processing techniques and innovative applications have taken places around the world in recent years. The conference is, therefore, aimed to provide a forum for exchanges and discussions of new ideas and the latest achievements related to magnesium and its alloys. A further objective of the conference is to highlight the global and regional trends crucial to future research fields and potential applications.