Abstract Glaciology has become a broad interdisciplinary science, which should no longer be considered as a subdivision of hydrology. Major contributions to glaciology during the last five years are reviewed (131 references are given) and prognoses are made concerning lines of future research in the years to come. The subjects are grouped under the following headings: (1) Field techniques. (2) Geochemistry and mass balance of polar ice caps. (3) Sliding of temperate glaciers and related problems. (4) Temperature profiles and past history of ice caps. (5) Glacier erosion and bottom drift.