This contribution briefly summarizes the authors’ previous work on iterative carrier synchronization in transmission systems protected by a powerful error-correcting code. It is shown how maximum-likelihood estimation theory can be used to derive code-aided synchronization structures that are well suited for application in receivers with iterative maximum-a-posteriori bit detection. Simulation results for a turbo-coded system indicate that the proposed joint carrier synchronization and bit detection algorithms yield a lower mean square estimation error thin traditional carrier synchronization techniques, and a small bit error rate degradation as compared to a perfectly synchronized receiver.