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Abstract: In recent years, the concept of regional innovation systems has evolved into a widely used analytical framework that generates the empirical foundation for innovation policy making. Yet, the approaches that utilize this framework remain ambiguous on such key issues as the territorial dimension of innovation, i.e. the region, and the apparently important role played by ‘institutions’ or the institutional context in the emergence and sustenance of regional innovation systems. This paper reviews and summarizes important ideas and arguments in the recent theorizing on regional innovation systems. It also examines such issues as (a) definition confusion and empirical validation; (b) the territorial aspect of regional innovation systems; and (c) the role of institutions. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]