As the population ages, increasing attention is being focused on the family circumstances and relationships of people in later life. This article reports on the meaning and role of family relationships in the lives of men and women aged between 50 and 70 years. It is based on data from the Later Life Families Study conducted by the Australian Institute of Family Studies between August-December 1996. The author found that for the majority of men and women in this age group, family across the generations was important and contact with family was frequent. Although only one third of men and women said specifically that their own parents or their children would influence later life decisions and activities, the majority of all respondents reported participating in a substantial amount of reciprocal support and valued family contact.