The literature on Fischer-Tropsch synthesis can be divided into two broad categories: The major portion falls into the category of empirical product distribution studies done with catalyst improvement in mind, while a smaller body of data has been slowly accumulated with the intention of understanding the fundamentals of the reaction. Of this smaller body of mechanistic and kinetic work, only part deals with the quantitative formulation of rate and product distribution phenomena. A vigorous effort has also been made in recent years to contribute to this understanding by surface studies. This approach, however, has at best offered tantalizing views of the various adsorbed species without leading to a quantitative formulation of the kinetics of observable phenomena at reaction conditions.