The current upswing in the interest in organoelement chemistry of Group 13 metals is attributed not least to the establishment of the coordination chemistry of R(a)E fragments (E=Al, Ga, In; a=1, 2) at d-block metals (M). Recently the availability of low-valent organoelement compounds as building blocks for synthesis has substantially enriched the structure chemistry of this class of compounds. The M-E bonding conditions and the question of the significance of M(d(pi))-E(p(pi)) backbonding as well as potential applications in materials science, for example, as single-source precursors for the deposition of thin intermetallic films by chemical vapor deposition, are discussed.