The silicates, owing to their abundance on Earth, constitute the most important mineral class. Approximately 25 percent of all known minerals and 40 percent of the most common ones are silicates; the igneous rocks that make up more than 90 percent of Earth’s crust are composed of virtually all silicates.

The fundamental unit in all silicate structures is the silicon-oxygen (SiO₄)^4– tetrahedron. It is composed of a central silicon cation (Si⁴⁺) bonded to four oxygen atoms that are located at the corners of a regular tetrahedron. The terrestrial crust is held together by the strong silicon-oxygen bonds of these tetrahedrons. Approximately 50 percent ionic and 50 percent covalent, the bonds develop from the attraction of oppositely charged ions as well as the sharing of their electrons.

The positive charge (+4) of each silicon cation is satisfied by its four bonds to oxygen atoms. Each oxygen ion (O^2–), however, contributes only one-half of its total bonding energy to a silicon-oxygen bond, so it is capable of also bonding to the silicon cation of another tetrahedron. The SiO₄ tetrahedrons thereby become linked by shared oxygen atoms; this is referred to as polymerization. The degree and manner of polymerization are the bases for the variety present in silicate structures.

The silicates can be divided into groups according to structural configuration, which arises from the sharing of one, two, three, or all oxygen ions of a tetrahedron. Nesosilicates have isolated groups of SiO₄, while sorosilicates contain pairs of SiO₄ tetrahedrons linked into Si₂O₇ groups. Ring silicates, also known as cyclosilicates, are closed, ringlike silicates; the sixfold variety has composition Si₆O₁₈. Silicates that are composed of infinite chains of tetrahedrons are called inosilicates; single chains have a unit composition of SiO₃ or Si₂O₆, whereas double chains contain a silicon to oxygen ratio of 4:11. Phyllosilicates, or sheet silicates, are formed when three oxygen atoms are shared with adjoining tetrahedrons. The resulting infinite flat sheets have unit composition Si₂O₅. In structures where tetrahedrons share all their oxygen ions, an infinite three-dimensional network is created with an SiO₂ unit composition. Minerals of this type are called framework silicates or tectosilicates.

As a major constituent of Earth’s crust, aluminum follows only oxygen and silicon in importance. The radius of aluminum, slightly larger than that of silicon, lies close to the upper bound for allowable fourfold coordination in crystals. As a result, aluminum can be surrounded with four oxygen atoms arranged tetrahedrally, but it can also occur in sixfold coordination with oxygen. The ability to maintain two roles within the silicate structure makes aluminum a unique constituent of these minerals. The tetrahedral AlO₄ groups are approximately equal in size to SiO₄ groups and therefore can become incorporated into the silicate polymerization scheme. Aluminum in sixfold coordination may form ionic bonds with the SiO₄ tetrahedrons. Thus, aluminum may occupy tetrahedral sites as a replacement for silicon and octahedral sites in solid solution with elements such as magnesium and ferrous iron.

Several ions may be present in silicate structures in octahedral coordination with oxygen: Mg²⁺, Fe²⁺, Fe³⁺, Mn²⁺, Al³⁺, and Ti⁴⁺. All cations have approximately the same dimensions and thus are found in equivalent atomic sites, even though their charges range from positive two to positive four. Solid solution involving ions of different charge is accomplished through coupled substitutions, thereby maintaining neutrality of the structures.