A cross-sectional study of alcoholics who varied widely in duration of abstinence was combined with a four-year follow-up study of the same subjects. Together, the data demonstrated a course of recovery in abstinent alcoholics measured in three ways: severity of symptoms, probability of relapse, and work history. Additionally, the subjects showed high rates of smoking cessation. By every measure, the course of recovery seemed essentially the same in men and women. The recovery process was most rapid in the early years of abstinence but continued for 10 or more years. It was suggested that keys to full recovery in alcoholics are abstinence and time, which are necessary for recovery from a protracted withdrawal syndrome and brain dysfunction, for the repair of social relationships, for vocational rehabilitation, and for abstinence itself to become stable.