In this introductory chapter, we first consider what chemical kinetics and chemical re-action engineering (CRE) are about, and how they are interrelated. We then introducesome important aspects of kinetics and CRE, including the involvement of chemical sto-ichiometry, thermodynamics and equilibrium, and various other rate processes. Sincethe rate of reaction is of primary importance, we must pay attention to how it is defined,measured, and represented, and to the parameters that affect it. We also introduce someof the main considerations in reactor design, and parameters affecting reactor perfor-mance. These considerations lead to a plan of treatment for the following chapters.Of the two themes in this book, kinetics and CRE, the latter is the main objective,and we consider kinetics primarily as it contributes to, and is a part of, CRE.