Aim: To review studies from 1996 through 2005 on the effectiveness of disulfiram in the treatment of alcohol and other kinds of substance abuse. Method: A systematic literature search using two databases. Results: With the selection criteria, ten studies were identified that used random assignment to groups and intent-to-treat analyses. Compared to a placebo, treatment with disulfiram led to a significant increase in number of days that patients were abstinent from alcohol. Similar results were observed with regard to cocaine use in cocaine-dependent patients. Conclusions: The effectiveness of disulfiram in alcohol-abuse treatment was confirmed in studies of high methodological standards. In addition, disulfiram has a new application in the treatment of cocaine dependence, but for the time being empirical support for it is limited.