The Catalogue includes data on sources, the devices housing the sources, and details of manufacturers and suppliers worldwide. The ICSRS contains information on upwards of 5,000 different types of radioactive sources, 4,000 radioactive devices and over 1,000 manufacturers or suppliers. This information can be used to help identify an unknown source, using such limited information as what the radioactive source looks like or a serial number.

The Catalogue is used by regulators, emergency response teams, professionals dealing with orphan sources, law enforcement organizations, customs authorities, users of sources, scrap yards and metal productions plants, and waste management teams.