An accurate and reproducible technique involving a continuous aqueous elution from a bed of dried-milk powder was developed to evaluate reconstitution characteristics. Quantitative data for the determination of reconstitution behaviour were obtained by analysis of the eluate for protein, lactose and Ca constituents. A reconstitution coefficient (P) was derived from the formula (W1+ΣWi)/T, where W1 was the amount reconstituted in the first eluate fraction, ΣWi the total amount reconstituted in 8 fractions, and T the time taken for 1/3 of the constituent to be reconstituted. Values obtained for P were thus related to the reconstitution properties and could be used to grade the powders. A freeze-dried skim-milk gave the ideal reconstitution behaviour with W1 values in the range 42·0–44·2, ΣWi values in the range 93·6–101·3, T values in the range 3·0–3·3 and reconstitution coefficients in the range 41·1–46·3 for the 3 constituents. All the other preparations tested gave lower values for W1 and P, although some gave ΣWi values in the same range, whilst all T values were higher than those for the freeze-dried sample.