Research conducted at the ICMAB is considered to on the cutting-edge of science and materials technology; its principal aim being to generate knowledge and contribute new solutions and tools in this field, thereby fostering progress in industry and our society on general.
The human team at ICMAD is made up of 200 people (including researchers, doctoral students and technicians) who undertake research in development of new functional materials and nanomaterials. Work here is conducted with a view to the future: that these advances will someday find applications in various industrial sectors. Three such sectors are the following:
1. Materials for electronics and information sciences, which include magnetic, optical, electric and dielectric materials useful in information transmission, storage and processing, with applications in sensors, detectors and photovoltaic energy generators.
2. Materials with environmental and energy uses. These include materials used in energy generation, storage and use, for catalysts and in applications requiring sensors, detectors or current limiters, among others.
3. Materials for use in biomedicine and pharmaceutical industry. Of interest here are the new biocompatible materials for therapeutic or diagnostic purposes.

To achieve this aim, it's also necessary to focus efforts on transversal activities such as the development of new methodologies for use in materials manufacturing and processing, as well as their advanced structural and functional characterisation, materials design and design of their properties through simulation.
One of the principal missions of the ICMAB is training of specialised staff. This is achieved through doctoral work at the centre. This aim of this training is to provide young researchers with the skills they need to become future pioneers in innovation, whether they continue their careers in the academic or industrial world. In fact, a considerable number of the 120 young researchers at ICMAB who have carried out their doctoral work at the centre are currently working in the industrial sector—favouring the centre's collaboration with the industry. The ICMAB also provides support for its researchers in the creation of technology-based businesses.