We review the interaction in stars of intermediate and high mass between the stars’ evolution and magnetic and chemical properties. We describe the theory of Ap-star ‘fossil’ fields, before touching on the expected secular diffusive processes which give rise to evolution of the field. We then present recent results from a spectropolarimetric survey of Herbig Ae/Be stars, showing that magnetic fields of the kind seen on the main-sequence already exist during the pre-MS phase, in agreement with fossil field theory, and that the origin of the slow rotation of Ap/Bp stars also lies early in the PMS evolution; we also present results confirming a lack of stars with fields below a few hundred gauss. We then look at the effect of diffusion of elements on stellar evolution and mechanisms for differential diffusion of rare earth elements. Finally we review progress on the turbulence-driving and mixing processes in stellar radiative zones.