Abstract. We study the L p -theory for the Schrödinger operator La with inverse-square potential a|x| −2 . Our main result describes when L p -based Sobolev spaces defined in terms of the operator (La) s/2 agree with those defined via (−∆) s/2 . We consider all regularities 0 < s < 2.In order to make the paper self-contained, we also review (with proofs) multiplier theorems, Littlewood-Paley theory, and Hardy-type inequalities associated to the operator La.