This paper gives an overview of meta-heuristics methods utilized within the paradigm of multi-objective programming. This is an area of research that has undergone substantial expansion and development in the past decade. A literature review for this period is presented and analyzed. Analysis of the types of multi-objective techniques and meta-heuristics is undertaken and reasons for their use hypothesized. The strengths and weaknesses of meta-heuristic methods as applied to multi-objective programmes are discussed. Finally, a summary is given together with suggestions for future research. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.