The intrinsic low sensitivity of the NMR phenomenon can be overcome thanks to hyperpolarization procedures that break the limits of the Boltzmann equilibrium and may increase the NMR signal by a factor of 10(5). Hyperpolarization procedures have been applied to enhance the signal from noble gases, such as 3He and 129Xe, and small 13C-containing molecules. For the latter class, attention has been focused on the use of methods based on dynamic nuclear polarization (DNP) and para-hydrogen induced polarization (PHIP). After discussion of the basics of the methods, an overview of the main applications with 13C-containing molecules is presented. This includes pre-clinical MR investigations of vascular imaging, perfusion and catheter tracking as well as molecular imaging protocols that allow the development of highly innovative studies in the field of metabolic imaging.