A general overview of the subject of elastic-plastic fracture is presented.The discussion is carried out with the aid of a simple expression which permits the factors important to fracture control to be treated systematically.Such treatment allows the reader to see how factors such as material strength, material toughness, service conditions, crack size, inspection levels, etc. are related to one another At various points in the discussion it is apparent that more work is needed to clarify certain issues relevant to fracture control. The issues to be clarified seem to group themselves into the following four categories.