  In this talk I discuss properties of hot stellar matter at sub-nuclear
densities which is formed in supernova explosions. I emphasize that
thermodynamic conditions there are rather similar to those created in the
laboratory by intermediate-energy heavy-ion collisions. Theoretical methods
developed for the description of multi-fragment final states in such reactions
can be used also for description of the stellar matter. I present main steps of
the statistical approach to the equation of state and nuclear composition,
dealing with an ensemble of nuclear species instead of one "average" nucleus.
