Envisat is ESA's environmental research satellite launched on 1 March 2002. It carries a suit of sensors offering opportunities for a broad range of scientific research and applications. The calibration results from the first year of operation of the MEdium Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (MERIS) will be presented, including in-flight verification and radiometric, spectral and geometric characterisation of the instrument. Radiometric calibration using the on-board diffuser will be discussed and comparison with vicarious calibration results over desert sites or well-characterized marine sites will be presented. The image quality will be assessed, and improvements resulting from the in-flight characterisation will be presented.