This paper highlights the importance and need for improved quantitation in gas chromatography. The development of various quantitative techniques in this field are described. Good absolute accuracy in gas chromatography analyses can be accomplished by careful calibration work, as illustrated by the results obtained on four different round-robin samples circulated in recent years by ASTM Committee E-19 on Gas Chromatography. A study carried out with various sample types and column-detector combinations has shown the need for further work in improving the total variability or precision of the overall chromatographic system. The role of quantitation and automation in the field of gas chromatography for the future is considered.