The author discusses Liebowitz's (1979) and Rieder's (1979) reviews of current issues regarding the diagnosis of borderline patients. He cites the need for further research examining the basic characteristics of the borderline syndrome. He also recommends that greater attention be directed toward defining subtypes of the syndrome. The author believes that a combination of the descriptive approach of Gunderson and Kolb (1978) and his own psychostructural approach (Kernberg 1977) would prove fruitful.