The dispersion of clusters of small spherical particles (20–400 m) suspended in a liquid has been studied by subjecting them to linear two-dimensional flow fields which include pure shear as one limit pure rotation as the other with simple shear as an intermediate case. If the liquid used to form the suspension is the same as the bulk medium, dispersion proceeds in a well-defined fashion depending upon: the amount of vorticity in and the strength of the undisturbed flow, the initial radius of the cluster, the radius and volume fraction of particles. It was Found that a model based upon the assumption that the rate at which the particles leave the surface of the cluster is proportional to its surface area adequately describes the dispersion process.