The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of the methodological problems encountered in alcoholism treatment outcome evaluation. The methodological issues raised by (a) the traditional reliance on abstinence as the sole criterion of treatment success, (b) the question of the reliability and validity of self-reports of alcoholics, and (c) the difficulty of locating alcoholics for follow-along are highlighted. Of these methodological issues, none was found to be more controversial than the adequacy of abstinence as a criterion of success. At the same time, no controversy in this field appears more pivotal to the development of innovation in both treatment and research technology. The emergence of the“multivariate”conceptualization of alcoholism, with life adjustment as a criterion of success, has broadened the scope of research while stimulating interest in the application of increasingly complex and sophisticated techniques. The most recent literature written from this perspective indicates the significant success of new approaches that enhance the reliability and validity of self-reports, as well as facilitating follow-up. This would suggest that these perennial methodological problems do not necessarily reflect the symptomatology of a difficult class of cases but may be indicative of the“climate”in which treatment and research are conducted.