Urinary incontinence (UI) is a multi-faceted disease that may significantly impact patients' daily lives and health-related quality of life (HRQoL). Most recently, a number of measures applying various approaches have been developed to assess patient-reported outcomes (PROs) in UI. However, a comprehensive and critical review of these measures has not been performed to date. OBJECTIVE: To analyze and compare UI-specific PRO measures with respect to content, psychometric properties and feasibility for use in clinical trials. METHODS: A systematic literature review, for the years 1985-2002, was performed using Medline and Olga databases to identify PRO measures for UI; abstracts presented at various conferences were also searched. Measures were characterized by PROs (symptoms, activity limitation, HRQoL) and those that were well-validated and/or frequently used were selected for a detailed review. RESULTS: Twenty-two PRO measures used in UI were identified, of these 8 were selected for a detailed review. Six of the eight instruments have been well-validated and six of them have been used previously in clinical trials. Symptom-specific instruments include: the Symptom Severity Index, Symptom Impact Index, and Symptom Frequency and Bothersomeness Scale. The Scale for Activity Interference and Limitations captures activity limitation, specifically. The Incontinence Quality of Life Questionnaire, Incontinence Impact Questionnaire, King's Health Questionnaire, and Overactive Bladder Questionnaire capture both activity limitation and HRQoL; the latter two also contain items that assess symptoms. A detailed review and comparison of contrasting attributes of the eight UI instruments, along with psychometric properties, will be presented. CONCLUSION: Numerous UI-specific PRO measures are available. Selection for use in clinical trials should be made based on PROs of interest, relevance to patients, psychometric properties, and feasibility of use.