Expansion of the understanding of the mechanism of asthma progressed dramatically in the past decade. With this new information, therapeutic emphasis switched from primarily bronchodilator therapy to anti-inflammatory therapy. Concurrently, drugs with different delivery systems as well as higher dose agents were released, simplifying therapy for many patients. The result is a fairly dramatic reexamination of traditionally used medications and attempts to develop newer medications aimed at reducing asthma based on the newer proposed pathophysiological mechanisms. Future management of asthma likely will involve some newer medications as well as the education of the patient and his/her family concerning the behavior of asthma and appropriate steps to take when there is loss of usual asthma control.