  3-flavor quark matter (strange quark matter; SQM) can be stable or metastable
for a wide range of strong interaction parameters. If so, SQM can play an
important role in cosmology, neutron stars, cosmic ray physics, and
relativistic heavy-ion collisions. As an example of the intimate connections
between astrophysics and heavy-ion collision physics, this Chapter gives an
overview of the physical properties of SQM in bulk and of small-baryon number
strangelets; discusses the possible formation, destruction, and implications of
lumps of SQM (quark nuggets) in the early Universe; and describes the structure
and signature of strange stars, as well as formation and detection of
strangelets in cosmic rays. It is concluded, that astrophysical and laboratory
searches are complementary in many respects, and that both should be pursued to
test the intriguing possibility of a strange ground state for hadronic matter,
and (more generally) to improve our knowledge of the strong interactions.
