Tableting properties of a directly compressible starch are investigated. This starch appears to have many advantages over starch USP with respect to fluidity and compressibility and as such would be useful in direct compression. In addition, compressible starch gives results comparable to USP starch in terms of disintegration time and dissolution rate when used at equivalent levels. The high moisture content of compressible starch does not affect the stability of aspirin when compressed together. Amylose is shown to be the effective component of starch in terms of its disintegrant effect. Doubt is cast on the role of starch grain swelling in tablet disintegration.