Recent research on Chinese orthography is reviewed in a discussion of the relationship between orthographic symbols and reading processes. Specifically, these issues are addressed with relation to research findings: the difficulty of learning Chinese logographs, particularly with regard to learning disabilities and biliteracy; whether reading in Chinese requires an enhanced visual memory; whether the recoding process is required in skilled reading of Chinese, because logographs do not contain information about pronunciation; the need for phonological awareness in order to read Chinese script; and whether reading in Chinese requires greater right brain hemisphere processing. Contains 93 references. (MSE)