The paper presents the theoretical and practical view on the concept of bioeconomy. It presents methods of the term’s definition, the idea behind it, reasons for its development, its theoretical and practical roots, historical development in Europe and the US and its volumes expressed in production and in employment levels. The paper discusses the links between bioeconomy and the theoretical concepts of agribusiness, food economy, diffusion of innovation and sustainable development theory. Its connections to regional development issues were also demonstrated. Additionally, the paper shows the concept’s connections to the practice of programming development strategies and implementation of sector practices in the European Union. The author also presented the outline of the European strategy for bioeconomy development, its pillars and action plan for bioeconomy. Finally, the paper indicates the directions and significance of bioeconomy for development of the sectors of the economy, regional development and research.