This paper describes a biometric-based key generation method and its application to a secure communication system. In the proposed method, a personal key which is unique to each user is generated by extracting his/her biometric information. Using the generated personal key, a secure communication system which has the functions of confidentiality and user authentication is realized. As an example of the proposed method, we introduce a personal key generation method based on one's handwriting, and a secure telewriting system which enables the encryption of handwriting information as well as the authentication of a writer. Some simulation results indicate the possibility of realizing the above functions by using a writer's personal key.