A systematic review of the literature was carried out to determine the evidence for the reliability and validity of the assessment methods used in veterinary medical education. The review followed the approach used by the Best Evidence Medical Education (BEME) group. This process has established baseline data on published evidence and found that a relatively small number of articles exist relating to assessment specific to veterinary medical education. These articles include a number of general discussion papers, employer observations on graduate competence, and descriptions of methods to assess particular attributes--in particular, clinical skills. However, only five of the papers retrieved in this comprehensive search provide evidence relating to evaluation of the assessment method itself. There is a need for more research on assessment of clinical competence in veterinary medical education.