The purpose of this literature review is to examine existing models of psychosocial development of older adults especially framed around human mortality as a point of discussion that informs all aspects of human development in older adulthood. Well known, in addition to burgeoning, human psychosocial development models that considered older adulthood were chosen for their inclusion of the topic of death amid the aging experience. Two overarching perspectives of death in relation to human development resulted. One was the "thanatos" perspective, which generally viewed death as a purposeful component of human development, while the "transcendental" perspective saw death as something to be conquered or transcended through development. The phenomenon of death possesses an undeniable association with aging and the course of psychosocial development during the life span, especially in older adulthood. Death is a critical element in the discourse of human development and aging. Emerging theoretical frameworks of psychosocial development, especially gerontological models, must admit to the primacy of human mortality in understanding human growth, decline, and transitions. (Contains 2 tables.)