Contemporary theories of perceptual-motor development and dysfunction are analyzed in detail in this review of the literature. Studies focused on observation of delays, deviations, cause, theories of development, and programs of remediation. It is suggested that it may be presumptuous for theorists to delineate three, four, or ten characteristics that a child must display to demonstrate perceptual-motor dysfunction. Among theorists, there has been increasing agreement and repetition of findings that a child with perceptual-motor dysfunction has difficulty in the reception, integration, or response of stimuli, or a combination of these. Clumsiness, inability to attend to a task or screen inappropriate stimuli, hyperactivity, poor body image, visual disturbances, and poor bilateral integration are some of the more generalized and frequently mentioned characteristics. It is suggested the study of the effect of motor development on other variables could be more productive if normal and abnormal development were better understood. (CS)