This literature review addresses two related questions: Is buspirone as clinically effective an antianxiety agent as the benzodiazepines? And does buspirone offer any safety advantages? Data from over 1,000 anxious outpatients reveal that an average dose of 20 mg of buspirone/day appears to be as effective an antianxiety agent as comparable doses of diazepam or clorazepate in both acute and more chronic administration studies. Buspirone appears to cause less clinically significant impairment in cognition or motor performance, is less likely to potentiate the effects of brain depressants like alcohol, has little if any abuse liability, and produces no clinically identifiable physical abstinence syndrome when discontinued after long-term administration. While the final answer on the clinical usefulness and side effect profile of this interesting drug awaits the results of its use in divergent clinical settings, this new antianxiety agent appears to be equally effective in treating anxiety but is safer than the benzodiazepines.