In determining the velocity and attenuation of suspensions of spherical particles, results obtained from the computationally simpler multiple scattering approach of Waterman and Truell (WTF) and from a multiple scattering formalism (MSF), which considers the pair correlation function, have been compared in order to justify the range and applicability of the former method. Although the difference between the results increases as the concentration of suspensions increases, the frequency‐dependent attenuation computed from the two approaches can be quite different particularly in the low‐frequency range even at lower concentrations. Due to the unavailability of experimental data for ultrasonic propagation, data from analogous optical experiments on suspensions of latex spheres are compared. The MSF shows excellent agreement, whereas the WTF shows large discrepancies from the experimental data.