In this paper we review the experimental and observational searches for stable, massive, elementary particles other than the electron and proton. The particles may be neutral, may have unit charge or may have fractional charge. They may interact through the strong, electromagnetic, weak or gravitational forces or through some unknown force. The purpose of this review is to provide a guide for future searches -what is known, what is not known, and what appear to be the most fruitful areas for new searches. A variety of experimental and observational methods such as accelerator experiments, cosmic ray studies, searches for exotic particles in bulk matter and searches using astrophysical observations is included in this review.

We have used an automated Millikan oil drop method to search for free fractional-charge particles in a sample containing in total 3.9 mg of pulverized Allende meteorite suspended in 259 mg of mineral oil. The average diameter of the drops was 26:5 m with the charge on about 42 500 000 drops being measured. This search was motivated by the speculation that isolatable, fractional-charge particles produced in the early Universe and present in our Solar System are more likely to be accumulated in asteroids than on Earth's surface. No evidence for fractional-charge particles was found. With 95% confidence, the concentration of particles with fractional-charge more than 0.25 e (e being the magnitude of the electron charge) from the nearest integer charge is less than 1:3 10 ÿ21 particles per nucleon in the meteoritic material and less than 1:9 10 ÿ23 particles per nucleon in the mineral oil.