Background: The term supportive care , despite its everyday and widespread use, remains an ambiguous concept that lacks clarity. This research was carried out on behalf of The Cochrane Pain, Palliative and Supportive Care Review Group (PaPaS) to provide a clearer focus for the group that would inform title selection and facilitate more appropriate assistance for review authors. Objective: The primary objective was to develop a generic working definition of supportive care that could be applied to a range of diseases and chronic illness. Methods: Initially an in-depth review of the literature was carried out to identify existing generic and disease specific definitions of supportive care as well as descriptions of supportive care. Following the literature review a modified two-phase Delphi study was performed. Participants included experts in the area of supportive care identified during the literature review in addition to charities or their representatives. A draft definition of supportive care was developed based upon the outcome of the Delphi study and the findings were presented to members of the PaPaS editorial board for further comment. Results: The literature review identified one brief generic definition of supportive care with no explanation of its origin. A further 17 disease specific definitions were identified all relating to cancer. The literature review lead to the development of 100 statements for inclusion in phase I of the modified Delphi study. Twenty-six responses were received to phase I of the Delphi study and 17 responses to phase II. General agreement was received during the second stage of the Delphi process and a final draft definition of supportive care subsequently developed. Conclusions: This research has provided clarity regarding the meaning and general understanding of supportive care. The draft definition has been endorsed and adopted by PaPaS. The final definition would benefit from broader consultation to determine its acceptability amongst a wider range of health professionals and service users.