In recent years, the synchronously mode-locked cw dye laser has emerged as one of the most promising sources of laser pulses of picosecond and subpicosecond duration. The great interest in synchronously mode-locked cw dye lasers is due to their numerous attractive features, including their reliability and stability, broad spectral tunability, easily controllable pulse durations, and their amenability to synchronization and frequency modulation. We briefly review here the pulse formation mechanism and general performance characteristics of such lasers, as well as several recent advances in their source capabilities, and some recent applications.