Oceanographic processes play an important role in transporting sediment in deep-water settings. The sedimentary deposits generated by oceanic circulation, i.e. contourites, are common morphological features along continental margins where currents encounter the seafloor. Contourites can provide long-term archives of palaeoceanography and paleoclimatology, may be prone to sediment instability, and can have a great potential for hydrocarbon exploration. Despite their importance and increasingly recognised ubiquitous occurrence worldwide (even in lakes), the link between oceanographic processes and contourite features is poorly constrained. In this talk I will present the state of the art in research on contourite systems, with a focus on the oceanographic processes that control their formation.