The International Society of Limnology (SIL) was founded in 1922 to promote the study of inland waters including lakes, streams, rivers and ground waters. As a highly integrative science with elements of physics, chemistry and biology, ecology, hydrology and geology, limnology is charged with developing a holistic understanding of freshwater ecosystems in order to inform responsible future management.

The SIL Congress is the most important international gathering focused on inland waters, and serves to promote scientific exchange between practitioners pursuing purely theoretical research and those interested in practical ecosystem problems, such as biodiversity, eutrophication, water supply, fisheries management and ecosystem restoration. The event brings together scientists from many disciplines with managers and engineers seeking a sound basis for ecosystem management and restoration or solutions for other problems of inland waters. The congress provides valuable opportunities for scientists from around the world to share new research, ideas and solutions, to establish international collaborations, and to forge new friendships and renew old ones.

The inaugural SIL Congress took place in 1922 in Kiel, Germany and, except for a break during the Second World War, has been organized every two or three years in locations that rotate between countries. The event was held solely within Europe until 1962, when delegates gathered in Madison, USA for the XV Congress. A tri-annual format operated between the XI (SIL 1950, Ghent, Belgium) and XXXIII (SIL 2016, Torino, Italy) congresses and has now been replaced with a biannual event. The XXXIV Congress in 2018 will be held in Nanjing, the first time the SIL Congress has come to China, and the second time the event has taken place in Asia after the XXI (SIL 1980) Congress in Kyoto, Japan.