Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to introduce the concept of human information behaviour and to explore the relationship between information behaviour of users and the existing approaches dominating design and evaluation of information retrieval (IR) systems and also to describe briefly new design and evaluation methods in which extensive attention is dedicated to the users and their behaviours and conditions. Design/methodology/approach: The paper takes the form of a literature review with particular concentration on the efforts made by information science researchers. Findings: The paper finds that there are four classic approaches to IR systems design: system-centred, user-centred, interactive and cognitive. Not enough research has been carried out to explore the relationship between information behaviour and information systems design to date. Contextual design and participatory design are among the new methods where users' behaviour, factors and contexts are considered more proactively than previously when designing information systems. Originality/value: The paper introduces new methods and research frameworks being investigated currently in the area of information systems design and evaluation in which considerable attention is given to the users' information behaviour and situation. The paper is also useful in gaining a broad understanding about issues explored that have not previously been presented in one publication.