Information about the neuropsychological consequences of alcoholism has been mostly limited to the cognitive functioning of recently detoxified alcoholic men. To expand this research, the long-term recovery of cognitive abilities in alcoholic women was examined in two studies. In the first study, neuropsychological performances were compared for three matched groups of recently detoxified alcoholics (sober for about one month), recovering alcoholics (sober for about four years), and nonalcoholic controls. Recently detoxified alcoholics demonstrated deficits in perceptuospatial and problem-solving skills, but not in general verbal intelligence. Performance of recovering alcoholics was typically intermediate to the other two groups. In the second study, detoxified alcoholics and controls were tested once and then retested a year later. Performances of the abstinent/infrequent alcoholics improved more than those of the alcoholics who had resumed drinking and more than the retested controls. However, at retest, the alcoholics remained impaired on a number of measures. Results indicate that a slow improvement in the cognitive functioning of recovering alcoholic women occurs, with some perceptuomotor deficits remaining even after an average of four years of sobriety, but with more complex problem-solving skills recovering partially within a year. (Author/KMF)