A review of the literature base on competency-based education (CBE) as it relates to vocational education (competency-based vocational education or CBVE) is presented in this information analysis paper. The following topics are discussed: differences between traditional and competency-based education; growth and breadth of CBVE (including discussion of professional teacher education, professional education, college and university CBE courses, state boards and state departments of education, vocational-technical institutes and community colleges, the military, industry, and other countries); critical components in the specification of learner objectives (including discussion of determining which competencies to teach, criterion or standard to be attained, assumptions about aptitudes of learners, and rhetoric and consistency of model); providing instruction; assessing the learning experience; and priorities for research. The author recommends (1) that vocational educators recognize the interrelatedness of CBVE, mastery learning, and individualized instruction, and develop instructional programs, learning materials, and progress reporting systems that embody all three concepts, (2) that the writing of performance criteria be standardized around three components: a statement of visible performance or behavior required, a statement of the conditions under which mastery will be attained, and a description of the standard or criterion to be reached, and (3) that a dictionary of common definitions for CBVE be developed. (TA)