Ageism against older people has become a major issue of debate in the past ten years. This is partly due to the growing number of older persons (defined as aged 50 years or over) in our society and the fact that they are represented by increasingly strong and articulate pressure groups. There has also been a parallel series of debates focusing on ageism within different policy contexts, including the equality/human rights agenda, declining economic activity rates amongst people between the age of 50 years and state retirement age, and pensions policy.  This Research Update is based on data from the 2003 Northern Ireland Life and Times survey module on attitudes to older people.  Whilst some small-scale qualitative work has been conducted in Northern Ireland (Evason and Whittington, 2003), this module was the first attempt to address the topic with a representative sample of adults from across Northern Ireland. It therefore constitutes a significant addition to our understanding of what has become an increasingly important field of inquiry.