The paper first identifies the factors that explain why there is relatively little research on juvenile sexual violence. The implications drawn for this paper are that sexual violence is highlighted because there is so little among juvenile sex offenders; and because there is so little, the topic must be broadened to include nonviolent forms of sexual aggression. The paper is divided into five sections: incidence, prevalence, and apprehension rates; characteristics and classification of JSO's; etiology and developmental course; recidivism; and conclusions. The first four sections contain a critical review of empirical research on JSO's. Studies of adult offenders reflecting on their adolescence have generally been excluded due to space limitations. In each section of the paper, the critical review is followed by recommendations for improving methodology and addressing critical content areas in subsequent research. 143 references