In recent years, there has been an increasing interest in the elastic electron backscattering phenomenon partly due to its use in experimental determination of inelastic electron mean-free-paths. A critical review is presented of the current status of theoretical models to describe this phenomenon. Particular stress is put on determination of the accuracy and ranee of validity of various analytical models by comparison to extensive Monte Carlo simulations. (C) 2000 Published by Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.