We introduce a new asymptotic one-sided and symmetric tensor norm, the latter of which can be considered as the minimal tensor norm on the category of separable C * -algebras with homotopy classes of asymptotic homomorphisms as morphisms. We show that the one-sided asymptotic tensor norm differs in general from both the minimal and the maximal tensor norms and discuss its relation to semi-invertibility of C * -extensions.One of the reasons that the Brown-Douglas-Fillmore theory [2] gives so nice a classification for extensions of nuclear C * -algebras is their invertibility. Beyond the nuclear case not much is known about the general classification of C * -extensions, but more and more examples of non-invertible extensions are coming up [1], [6], [13], [12], [5]. In [9],[10] we suggested weakening the notion of triviality for extensions so that more extensions would become invertible in this new sense. As was shown by S. Wassermann, one of the reasons for non-invertibility is non-exactness and his idea relates many examples of noninvertible extensions to the problem of coincidence for certain tensor product norms. In the present paper we develop this idea to define the asymptotic tensor norm and study this norm in hope to learn more about extensions. Letbe an extension of A by B, i.e., a short exact sequence of C * -algebras. We always assume that B is stable, i.e., B ⊗ K ∼ = B, where K is the C * -algebra of compact operators. We also assume all C * -algebras to be separable with some obvious exceptions like the algebra L(H ) of bounded operators on a Hilbert space H . The extension (1) is called split if there is a * -homomorphism s : A → E that is a right inverse for the surjection p, i.e., p • s = id A . Due to the stability of B, one can fix an isomorphism M 2 (B) ∼ = B, which makes it possible to define a direct sum of two extensions of A by B. An extension of A by B is called Mathematics Subject Classification (2000): Primary 46L06; Secondary 46L05, 46L80.