In this seminar we will look at two places where two-dimensional conformal field theory is related to the study of matrix models. The first is that a matrix model may be thought of as a statistical model on a fluctuating lattice. In the continuum limit, that is in the limit of large matrix size N, this yields a c less than 1 CFT coupled to gravity. The second relation is that the matrix model can, even before the continuum limit, be described in terms of free bosons. The free boson CFT turns out to be useful in understanding the large N behaviour of the matrix model.