Biodiversity conservation has become an integral part of multifunctional forest management in Central Europe. In Switzerland, sustainable management practices have led to a positive development of indicators for 'close-to-nature' silviculture during recent decades, including increases in forest area, stand age and the proportion of old timber and dead trees. While numerous species have benefited from integrative sustainable silviculture, it has been less effective in fulfilling the requirements of habitat specialists of semi-open forests, and of communities of old-growth forest species. In the near future, increasing demand for energy timber and climate change are likely to be a challenge for the conservation of forest biodiversity. This paper reviews findings from ecological studies relevant for conservation practice and presents some important concepts and instruments for protecting, conserving and promoting biological diversity in Central European forests. Conservation instruments likely to have a complementary impact on forest biodiversity are recommended. They should be applied in the forest with more explicit spatial differentiation, and regional conservation practices should be combined with a transregional approach to forest reserve management.