Some metals and metallic compounds are known to exhibit high toxicity at very low concentrations towards a wide variety of microorganisms. This characteristic – the antimicrobial activity – has been used in medicine and health care for bactericide purposes. This paper summarizes some of the most interesting studies concerning metals and metallic compounds (oxides, salts, complexes etc.) with biocide activity, their formulation and mechanism of action, as well as specific finishing techniques employed in order to obtain metal or metallic compound-functionalized textiles for biomedical applications.