In this article, I use a literature review to examine the nature of reading comprehension in adult literacy practice. I suggest that we need to better understand learners' sociocultural profiles and that we need to be clearer about commonly used vocabulary terms (such as background knowledge). I also suggest that we pay more attention to how different ideas about the nature of interpretation underpin contrasting approaches to reading comprehension. Finally, I suggest that many adults who are not enrolled in basic education programs would also benefit from comprehension instruction.