diff --git a/src/emulator.rs b/src/emulator.rs
index 99c2e90..6a1a0a1 100644
--- a/src/emulator.rs
+++ b/src/emulator.rs
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
 use crate::display::Display;
+use crate::instruction::Instruction;
 use crate::stack::Stack;
 use anyhow::anyhow;
 use log::{debug, info};
@@ -92,10 +93,37 @@ where
         T: AsRef<Path> + std::fmt::Display,
     {
         self.load_rom(path)?;
-
+        self.emulation_loop::<T>()?;
         Ok(())
     }
 
+    /// Emulation loop executes the fetch -> decode -> execute pipeline
+    fn emulation_loop<T>(&mut self) -> Result<(), anyhow::Error> {
+        loop {
+            // fetch instruction
+            let instruction = self.fetch_instruction();
+            self.program_counter += 2;
+
+            // decode opcode
+            // let decode = self.decode_instruction(instruction);
+
+            // execute
+        }
+        Ok(())
+    }
+
+    /// Fetches the current instruction from the memory without incrementing the program counter.
+    fn fetch_instruction(&self) -> Instruction {
+        Instruction::new([
+            self.memory[self.program_counter as usize],
+            self.memory[self.program_counter as usize + 1],
+        ])
+    }
+
+    fn decode_instruction(&mut self, _instruction: Instruction) -> Result<(), anyhow::Error> {
+        todo!("must implement");
+    }
+
     /// Loads the ROM found at the rom path in the emulator's RAM memory.
     fn load_rom<T>(&mut self, rom_file: T) -> Result<(), anyhow::Error>
     where
@@ -114,6 +142,9 @@ where
         }
         file.read(&mut self.memory[0x200..])?;
 
+        // Set program counter to start of memory
+        self.program_counter = 0x200;
+
         debug!("Memory:\n{}\n", format!("{:?}", self.memory));
         Ok(())
     }
diff --git a/src/instruction.rs b/src/instruction.rs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..ab5bb0d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/instruction.rs
@@ -0,0 +1,25 @@
+use std::fmt::{Display, Formatter, Write};
+
+#[derive(Debug)]
+pub struct Instruction {
+    data: u16,
+}
+
+impl Instruction {
+    /// Creates a new instruction instance.
+    pub(crate) fn new(data: [u8; 2]) -> Self {
+        Instruction {
+            data: (data[1] as u16) << 8u8 | (data[0] as u16),
+        }
+    }
+}
+
+impl Display for Instruction {
+    fn fmt(&self, f: &mut Formatter<'_>) -> std::fmt::Result {
+        f.write_str(&format!(
+            "Instruction: [{:02x}, {:02x}]",
+            ((self.data & 0xFF00) >> 8u8) as u8,
+            (self.data & 0x00FF) as u8
+        ))
+    }
+}
diff --git a/src/main.rs b/src/main.rs
index e69ff50..b46c8bf 100644
--- a/src/main.rs
+++ b/src/main.rs
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@ use env_logger;
 
 mod display;
 mod emulator;
+mod instruction;
 mod stack;
 
 fn main() -> Result<(), anyhow::Error> {