Cited in current policies of Science, Technology and Innovation as a future carrier area, Biotechnology has demanded specific policies for its development. Among them, the formation of human resources has constituted a strategic action. With the objective of contributing to this theme, the present article aims to analyze the formation of human resources in Biotechnology in the Brazilian northeast. The research lines of graduate programs and of research groups registered in the CNPq Lattes platform in the above-mentioned region were utilized as an information source. The results indicate: articulation among regional themes and frontier areas; absences of formation in the fields of nanobiotechnology and bioinformatics and of researchers in themes related to structuring initiatives.