The increasing use of programmable processors as IP blocks in embedded system design creates a need for C/C++ compilers capable of generating efficient machine code. Many of today's compilers for embedded processors suffer from insufficient code quality in terms of code size and performance. This violates the tight chip area and real-time constraints often imposed on embedded systems. The reason is that embedded processors typically show architectural features, which are not well handled by classical compiler technology. This paper provides a survey of methods and techniques dedicated to efficient code generation for embedded processors. Emphasis is put on DSP and multimedia processors, for which better compiler technology is definitely required. In addition, some front-end aspects and recent trends in research and industry are briefly covered. The goal of these recent efforts in embedded code generation is to facilitate the step from assembly to high-level language programming of embedded systems, to provide higher productivity, dependability, and portability of embedded software.