While there has been burgeoning interest in the psychiatric literature about the phenomenology and biology of panic disorder, there is little new information about the psychodynamics of this condition. The reintroduction of a psychodynamic perspective could be useful in guiding research strategies to identify traits which predispose to panic and in designing treatments to address such traits. A psychodynamic model hypothesizes a relationship between current psychological functioning, early experiences, and ongoing psychological traits. Recent published reports about the nature of underlying psychodynamics and psychological characteristics of panic disorder are discussed.