Research on metacognition and literacy development in children and adults that was conducted during the past 15 years was reviewed to determine how metacognition can be applied to instructional approaches for adult literacy and how assessment methods may need to be modified if metacognition is to be applied successfully. Among the key findings of the review were the following: metacognitive approaches to literacy training use the prior beliefs that learners bring to the study of a given text/situation and encourage self-appraisal and self-management; literacy definitions and instruction have been moving away from narrow skills-based models and toward the more comprehensive kinds of thinking and motivational beliefs that adult learners bring to literacy activities; and instructional approaches for adult literacy, such as whole language and family literacy, can easily incorporate metacognitive concepts. Interviews, surveys, portfolios, and think-aloud techniques were recommended as possible ways of providing more information about how adult learners use metacognition than is provided by conventional assessment methods. The following strategies were suggested to promote metacognition in literacy instruction: make individuals' needs and abilities the first priority, give individuals opportunities to take control of their own reading and writing, and continually challenge individuals. (MN)