We developed stage of development descriptions which we believe apply to all soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merr.) genotypes grown in any environment. The descriptions apply to single plants or a community of plants and are precise and objective.Vegetative and reproductive development are described separately. Vegetative stages are determined by counting the number of nodes on the main stem, beginning with the unifoliolate node, that have or have had a completely unrolled leaf. Reproductive stages Rl and R2 are based on flowering, R3 and R4 on pod development, R5 and R6 on seed development, and R7 and R8 on maturation.The stage descriptions should enhance soybean research by standardizing descriptions of soybean plant development. The system also will be used by the soybean hail insurance industry for stage determination in adjustment of losses.