Seven chemical methods, namely peroxide value (PV), totox value (TV), anisidine value (AV), conjugable oxidation products (COP), oxodiene value (OV), induction period (IP), iodine value (IV) and a sensory analytical procedure (flavour score, FS) have been used in evaluating the oxidation state of groundnut oil heated at 100°C for varying lengths of time up to 20 h. As oxidation progressed, PV, TV, AV, COP and OV increased. IP and IV decreased with oxidation while FS showed a progressive deterioration on a seven-point scale from bland to very rancid. On the basis of sensitivity to oxidative changes, five of the methods (PV, TV, IP, IV and FS) were found to be satisfactory. However, the best correlation with flavour scores were obtained in the case of IP, IV and OV while AV and COP correlated poorly with FS. Three methods (PV, IP and IV) best satisfied the combined criteria of sensitivity to oxidative changes and correlation with flavour.