Radio observations of X-ray binaries

This paper describes how observations at radio wavelengths have contributed to shape our current picture of X-ray binaries as accretion powered sources in the Galaxy. A significant part of the progress during the past twenty years has been the result of modem radio interferometry. This path will certainly be continued with the construction of several improved and much more sensitive arrays. Here, I review the generalities of several observational facts which appear relevant to me for our current understanding of these accreting compact objects. Attention is also focused on new observational issues likely to provide important advances in a nearby future. These include the search for signatures of interaction between relativistic jets from X-ray binaries and the interstellar medium as well as the confirmation that these systems can be sources of high energy gamma-rays.