The literature in different fields of assessment and recording motor skills and movement patterns in children is reviewed and various methods of movement analysis are discussed from a clinical and instrumental point of view. Their advantages and disadvantages in the study of motor development and in neuropaediatric diagnosis and research are considered. The methods chosen for a special purpose, whether a motoscopic, motometric or motographic technique, depend on what the investigator wants to study and on the available facilities, and is also influenced by the degree of co-operation of the patient. Whatever technique is used, the results obtained must enable comparisons to be made with later assessments as that valid statements about the child's progress become possible.