The development and maintenance of romantic relationships in college students has been an increasingly frequent focus of attention among researchers interested in college student development. This study examined the role of gender in the relationships of emotional self-disclosure, self-esteem, and relationship satisfaction. Using a sample of college students (N=200) involved in serious dating relationships, it was expected both that higher levels of emotional self-disclosure would be found in female than male students, and that emotional self-disclosure would be more closely related to both self-esteem and relationship satisfaction in females than males. The subjects were administered measures of self-esteem, willingness to disclose emotions, and satisfaction with their relationship. Results supported the importance of affective self-disclosure in the relationship satisfaction reported by college students. Both male and female students involved in relationships of six months or more duration tended to report higher levels of relationship satisfaction in conjunction with higher levels of self-reported emotional self-disclosure. Self-esteem among women was related to relationship variables, both the level of emotional self-disclosure and the relationship satisfaction as reported by the individual student. Self-esteem was not related to these variables in the male sample. Further research should focus on clarifying both the nature and the direction of the relationships suggested, and on the differences between young men and young women in the correlates and antecedents of relationship quality and satisfaction. (LLL)