  I discuss the empirical properties of diffuse X-ray emitting gas in the halos
of both nearby starburst galaxies and normal spiral galaxies, based on high
resolution X-ray spectral imaging with the Chandra X-ray Observatory. Diffuse
thermal X-ray emission can provide us with unique observational probes of
outflow and accretion processes occurring in star-forming galaxies, and their
interaction with the inter-galactic medium. I consider both the spatial
distribution of the diffuse X-ray emission in and around edge-on starburst
galaxies with superwinds (e.g. surface brightness profiles, distribution with
respect to H-alpha and radio emission), and its spectral properties (e.g.
thermal or non-thermal nature, abundance ratios, temperatures and soft and hard
X-ray luminosities). These results are discussed in the context of current
theoretical models of supernova-driven superwinds, and compared to the more
limited data on extra-planar hot gas around edge-on normal galaxies.
