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This article will report research which deals with free and inexpensive materials being furnished by schools regardless of the term used by the research worker to identify these materials in the U.S. Materials include such items as pamphlets, books, maps, charts, posters, pictures, newspapers, magazines, films, and filmstrips. The problems teachers see in using business and industry-sponsored materials may be divided into two categories: problems of securing and maintaining materials and problems of using materials in teaching. In conclusion, the authors of this article find evidence that free and inexpensive materials are widely used in schools, that they provide students with important information not found in other materials, and that they often provide teachers with valuable assistance in enriching the educational opportunities for groups as well as for individual children. The research also reveals that there has been apprehension on the part of educators concerning the quality and adequacy of many of the free and inexpensive materials. This review suggests the need for continued research in the preparation and use of free and inexpensive materials in the schools.