Time-resolved in situ X-ray and neutron scattering can provide unique insight into material formation processes. Here, the use of such experiments for studies of wet-chemical material synthesis is described. We focus especially on techniques that can provide atomic structural information, i.e., powder diffraction and total scattering, and also describe how the combination with other techniques (small angle scattering and X-ray spectroscopy) can be used. Through examples, we illustrate the different kinds of information that can be obtained. This includes knowledge of crystallization kinetics and activations energies, insight into particle and crystallite growth mechanisms, and structural understanding of nucleation processes.