Recent advances in the study of organic pollutant accumulation in vegetation are reviewed. Major areas include (a) the mechanism of uptake by vegetation, (b) the use of vegetation to indicate contamination levels, and (c) the importance of vegetation as a pollutant sink. The mechanism of vegetation uptake of organic pollutants is governed by the chemical and physical properties of the pollutant, environmental conditions and the plant species. We recommend that additional field studies be done on the uptake of industrial pollutants by native plants and that empirical models and controlled exposure experiments be validated under field conditions. Vegetation can be used to qualitatively indicate organic pollutant atmospheric contamination levels as long as the mechanism of accumulation is considered. Vegetation has been used to identify point sources of pollutants and to determine regional and global contamination patterns. Plant pollutant concentrations should be normalized to the plant lipid concentration or surface area, especially when directly comparing different species. Although vegetation has a great potential to accumulate organic pollutants, little is known about the quantitative importance of vegetation as a pollutant sink. Overall recommendations for future research are presented.