IAU symposium 165 'Compact Stars in Binaries' was held from 15 through 19 August 1994, as part of the 22nd General Assembly of the IAU in The Hague. The symposium, supported by IAU Commissions 35,37,44 and 48, and co-sponsored by Commission 42, was attended by about 400 to 500 participants. This symposium received support from: - The International Astronomical Union; - The Royal Netherlands Academy of Sciences; - The Netherlands Ministery of Education and Science; - The Leids Kerkhoven Bosscha Fonds; - The Stichting Fysica. The field of compact stars in binaries is one of the most active areas of present-day astrophysics. An absolute highlight of the last few years was the 1993 Nobel Prize of physics, awarded to Taylor and Hulse for their discovery of the binary pulsar PSR 1913+ 16, and the measurement of the orbital decay of this system due to the emission of gravitational waves. The aim of the organizers of the symposium was to present an overview of the most significant observational discoveries of the past decade, in com­ bination with a review of the most important theoretical developments. We were very happy that most of the world's leading experts in observation and theory were present at the symposium to review the various aspects of the subject. The contents of their oral presentations are now published in the form of these proceedings, which we expect to become an important source of reference for the coming years.