The paper begins with a brief description of the relationship between Yugoslavia and its creditors throughout the 1980s, providing a background for the introduction of debt conversions in Yugoslav practice. The main features of the legal environment for debt conversions, especially of the debt conversion programme initiated in March 1989, are then reviewed. The paper then focuses on the main patterns of debt conversions executed in Yugoslavia with respect to their volume, structure of transactions, sources of funds and debt reduction effects. It appears in particular that the Yugoslav debt conversion programme presents many original features when compared with similar programmes implemented in several developing countries. Finally, the paper provides a review of the micro and macroeconomic implications of debt conversions, including the cost and benefits of these transactions, and concludes that this programme has been quite successful for Yugoslavia ...