Existing assessments of patterns of global sediment flux from the land to the oceans and of global patterns of sediment yield have tended to treat the global denudational system as a static system. There is, however, increasing evidence that the sediment loads of the world's rivers have changed significantly as a result of human activity and interference. As well as being of scientific interest, such changes have important environmental and economic implications and should be included in current concerns for the impact of global change on the Earth's environment. Lack of reliable long-term records precludes a detailed assessment of longer-term and recent changes in suspended sediment transport by world rivers, but the available information can be supplemented by evidence from several other sources, which include the long-term geological perspective, lake sediment records, catchment experiments and space-time substitution; all of which provide valuable information concerning the sensitivity of river sediment loads to environmental change and the magnitude of the changes involved. There is evidence of significant increases and decreases in sediment yields in many areas of the world. Any attempt to relate such changes in sediment loads to environmental change within the upstream drainage basin must, however, take account of the complexity of the sediment delivery system.