The paper elaborates on the importance ofperiodical literature as a primary source of information for research. It presents an overview of the origin of periodicals and reasons for their proliferation having implications on research activities in all disciplines. It analyses the periodical literature on Distance Education (DE) to reveal the state and status of the subject and research activities on it. Covering four refsreed journals of Distance Education, viz. Open Learning, American Jounral of Distance Education, Indian Journal of Open Learning, and Distance Education, in the study, it concludes that researchers in DE mostly use survey method; citation behaviour is a common practice; there is a trend towards collaborative research; 80 per cent ofpapers originate from five countries; and research on learner centred issues dominate the areas of contribution.