Abstract Objective To review adverse drug reaction (ADR) reporting schemes in selected developed countries, with emphasis on identifying community pharmacists' roles in ADR reporting. Setting International comparison between eight developed countries, with respect to ADR reporting systems and developments. Method Review of published articles on ADR reporting by pharmacists. Health and medical sciences databases including International Pharmaceutical Abstracts, MEDLINE and ProQuest were searched for relevant publications from 1993 to 2003. Websites specific to ADR reporting schemes in the selected countries were also searched. Key findings ADRs impact significantly on a nation's healthcare costs. Voluntary reporting by health professionals is currently considered the cornerstone to the detection and management of ADRs and makes a valuable contribution to the safe use of medicines. ADR reporting systems are managed by national ADR or pharmacovigilance reporting centres, and differ internationally. In general, medication-related problems are reported more commonly in hospitals than in the community. Physicians are the main contributors, except in the Netherlands and Canada, where community pharmacists play the major role in ADR reporting. Time pressure, no remuneration for reporting, and confusion about what to report were identified as some of the main deterrents for reporting by pharmacists. Conclusion Most international reporting systems for ADRs are either hospital based, or physician based. The opportunity therefore exists to further develop reporting systems that are accessible by community pharmacists, as they are in an ideal situation to detect and report ADRs through contact with patients.