We are pleased to announce SSBSE 2013, the fifth edition of the annual symposium dedicated to Search Based Software Engineering (SBSE). Search Based Software Engineering (SBSE) studies the application of meta-heuristic optimization techniques to various software engineering problems, ranging from requirements engineering to software testing and maintenance. The symposium builds on the flourishing interest in SBSE and provides a welcoming forum for discussion and dissemination that will strengthen the rapidly-growing international SBSE community. The 5th Symposium on Search-Based Software Engineering (SSBSE 2013) will be co-located with ESEC/FSE 2013 in St. Petersburg, Russia, from 24th to 26th of August, 2013. With the wide coverage of topics studied by the SBSE community, ranging from Requirements Engineering, to design tools, testing and verification, we are certain that SSBSE will host many exciting results and talks for everyone who is attending ESEC/FSE. To ensure fruitful academic cross-polination, we offer reduced rates to all attendees of ESEC/FSE.