Good quality research on grief and bereavement has flourished in the last decade. Until now, relatively few studies have studied grief specifically in an older population. However, a series of papers arising from the Changing Lives of Older Couples (CLOC) study carried out at the University of Michigan have clarified the mechanisms of psychological and social adjustment to spousal bereavement in a population of older people. The last five years have witnessed the replication and refinement of the University of Pittsburgh group's research on the important concept of complicated or ‘traumatic’ grief, which was highlighted in the last review of this topic in this journal. Major reviews on social support after bereavement and on treatments for grief symptoms have been published, and guidelines written on the management of the bereaved in a general hospital setting. This review will attempt to summarize the main themes from these and other important recently published papers in this area.