Abstract. Teichmüller space for a compact oriented surface M without boundary is described as the quotient jí/B0, where s?is the space of almost complex structures on M (compatible with a given orientation) and 8)0 are those C°° diffeomorphisms homotopic to the identity. There is a natural 3>0 invariant L2 Riemannian structure on si which induces a Riemannian structure on si/3>n. Infinitesimally this is the bilinear pairing suggested by Andre Weil-the Weil-Petersson Riemannian structure. The structure is shown to be Kahler with respect to a naturally induced complex structure on¿//S0. In this work we show how, in the context of the approach to Teichmüller theory developed in [7 and 8], the Weil-Petersson metric arises naturally. We shall provide a simple and direct proof that the metric is Kahler.We now present a more detailed description of our results. We begin first, however, with a review of our basic approach to the development of a Teichmüller theory and of some of the results in [7 and 8].Let .J'be a C°° finite-dimensional manifold without boundary. Let T\(Jt) be the vector bundle over J( of tensors of type (1,1), and CX(TX(J?)) the space of Cx sections.