This literature review has been prepared as one aid in the process of outlining indicators of minimally acceptable performance of practicing licensed physicians in the service of the Department of Health in Puerto Rico as part of the University of Puerto Rico's Special Curso de Perfeccionamiento, a course that was developed for unlicensed graduates of foreign medical schools. The purpose of the review is to present background material as a summary report concerning the definition of performance standards. Greatest attention has been paid, of course, to such standards as set for physicians in hospital and/or office practice, but a few references related to nurses have been included as relevant to the problem. With respect to indicators of acceptable performance, the intent of the review was twofold: to discover (a) specific criteria which have been proposed as performance standards, no matter in what various forms, and (b) procedures which have been employed in determining such criteria. At the same time, it was possible to note certain philosophical viewpoints concerning the whole question, and also to relate measurement techniques to the criteria as outlined. The emphasis, however, was on the criteria and the means used for arriving at them. (Author/DEP)