Clinical efficacy is not the sole criterion today in the drug treatment of hypertension, a condition which is so often asymptomatic and one which demands prolonged, usually lifetime, management of the patient. Patient compliance with treatment is essential and the practical usefulness of a drug can be determined by its side-effect liability, convenience and simplicity of administration and low possible long-term risk potential. There is growing experimental and clinical evidence that indapamide, an antihypertensive agent with only limited diuretic activity at low dosage (2.5 mg as a single dose per day), is proving to be a consistently effective and well-tolerated alternative to the thiazides and beta-blockers as a first-line treatment, and a useful addition in multi-drug regimens. Some of the recent data, particularly from U.S. and Canadian studies, are briefly reviewed.