Inquiry based science teaching has attracted very widespread attention amongst educational policy circles, initially in the US and in recent years in Europe. We attempt to delineate the term inquiry by raising the issue of how it came about in science education and how thinking about this framework has gradually evolved. In doing so, we address the question of what does inquiry based science education mean and what are the implications for research and teaching? We describe specific examples of prototypical educational innovations that have sought to promote this framework and we highlight the importance of ongoing educational research in bringing about the necessary refinements that need to take place in order for this paradigm to have a significant workable impact in science teaching and learning in formal education.