Recovery of language function following brain injury has been attributed to various phenomena including spontaneous recovery of function, reduction of physiological symptoms (for example, reduced oedema), and to the transfer of function to surrounding cerebral structures. These explanations have been based on the concept of the left hemisphere as the sole processor oflanguage. The present article reviews the research findings which provide evidence to support a hypothesis of right hemispheric compensation as one of the major mechanisms for language recovery/compensation in many aphasic patients.