OBJECTIVE Against a background of sparse research and contradictory findings, the present study investigates determinants of psychotherapy goals and predictive value for therapy success in outpatient psychotherapy. METHODS The sample consisted of 473 patients from a university-based polyclinic and their corresponding 103 therapists. Goals were coded with the Bern Inventory of Treatment Goals (BIT-T). RESULTS The results show that goal congruence between therapists and patients is relatively small. Theoretical orientation had a significant influence on the complexity of goal structure and goal preferences. With regard to the prognostic validity, only patients' problem- and symptom-focused goals enabled the prediction of treatment success independent of basic therapeutic variables. CONCLUSIONS These findings underline the importance of consideration of patients' individual treatment goals in clinical practice and underpin the relevance of therapy goals for future psychotherapy research.