It is recognized by many that the use of anabolic implants in fed beef cattle receiving adequate nutrition offers the greatest return on investment. Although increased weight gain and improved feed efficiency are commonly observed, the influence of anabolic implants on carcass characteristics is not entirely positive. Since the early use of diethylstilbestrol, packers and meat retailers have expressed concern about the influences of implants on carcass quality grade and meat tenderness. This concern has been renewed and amplified with the increased proliferation of single and combination implant usage. Estrogenic, androgenic, and combination implants have produced increases in live performance, carcass weight, ribeye area and USDA yield grade. However, the use of anabolic implants has resulted in varying decreases in marbling scores and occasional increases in skeletal maturity, both influencing USDA quality grade. Limited data suggests a slight increase in the percentage of dark cutters and a possible increase in Warner-Bratzler shear force. It should be noted that these results need to be treated with caution as there are numerous extraneous factors that can influence the incidence of dark cutters and level of meat tenderness. This paper will discuss the influences of anabolic implants upon carcass characteristics, explore different implant management strategies available to optimize carcass value and offer suggestions for future research.