Computer-aided translation systems (CAT) based on translation memories (TM) are a widely diffused technology that uses database and code-protection features to improve the quality, efficiency and consistency of the human translation process. These systems basically consist of a textual database in which each source sentence of a translation is stored together with the target sentence. New and changed translation proposals will then be stored in the database for future use. This textual database –the kernel of the system – which is used by translators to store independently, terminological equivalences or translations units of particular value. In this paper the authors outline a first draft of a methodology that describes the preparation of a bilingual terminology from – and within – TM applications. The bilingual corpus produced is called the ‘terminological memory’ of the translator.