This volume contains the proceeding of the 5th International Conference on - age and Video Retrieval (CIVR), July 13–15, 2006, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA: http://www. civr2006. org. Image and video retrieval cont- ues to be one of the most exciting and fast-growing research areas in the ?eld of multimedia technology. However, opportunities for exchanging ideas between researchers and users of image and video retrieval systems are still limited. The InternationalConferenceonImageandVideo Retrieval(CIVR)hastakenonthe mission of bringing together these communities to allow researchers and prac- tioners around the world to share points of view on image and video retrieval. A uniquefeatureoftheconferenceistheemphasisonparticipationfrompractiti- ers. The objective is to illuminate critical issues and energize both communities for the continuing exploration of novel directions for image and video retrieval. We receivedover 90 submissions for the conference. Eachpaper wascarefully reviewed by three members of the program committee, and then checked by one of the program chairs and/or general chairs. The program committee consisted of more than 40 experts in image and video retrieval from Europe, Asia and North America, and we drew upon approximately 300 high-quality reviews to ensure a thorough and fair review process. The paper submission and review process was fully electronic, using the EDAS system. The quality of the submitted papers was very high, forcing the committee members to make some di?cult decisions. Due to time and space constraints, we could only accept 18 oral papers and 30 poster papers.