Episodic memory involves hippocampal binding of different aspects of an experience into a unique spatio-temporal context. During sleep, repeated memory reactivation gradually strengthens the distributed neocortical representations, fostering a “corticalization” and integration of encoded information into pre-existing memory networks. As a result, complete representations can be reinstated by activating only parts of the memory trace in a process referred to as pattern completion. The gradual corticalization during sleep further entails a qualitative transformation that supports higher-level abstraction and generalization, resulting in gist-like representations of invariant information from overlapping experiences. In my presentation, I will highlight recent advances in episodic memory binding, with a particular focus on sleep’s role in memory abstraction and pattern completion.