Eurocode 7 on 'Geotechnical design' of the first generation of Eurocodes is currently being used in many countries throughout Europe and other parts of the world. The first part of this paper presents how the two generations of Eurocode 7 have been drafted: the first generation during the period 1981-2007 and the second generation during the period 2011-2025. The second part of this paper presents the differences between the first and the second generation of Eurocode 7 regarding some key concepts among which: design methods; ground model and geotechnical design model; measured, derived and representative values of ground properties; geotechnical category; Ultimate Limit States (ULS) and Serviceability Limit States (SLS) verifications; groundwater actions; rock mechanics; numerical modelling and limiting values of displacements. This large overview on the drafting process of the first and second generations of Eurocode 7 provides many insights into the evolution of the geotechnical design during the last 40 years.