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With the advent of high-speed, high-ouput diesel engines, cavitation erosion of wet-cylinder liners is one of the most prevalent types of failure and a major problem confronting designers. It has been attributed to many mechanisms by various researchers in different countries. The present paper summarizes the authors' work, reviews published information on this problem, and discusses various contradictory findings. It has been found from vibratory cavitation tests that it is possible to produce conditions leading to erosion of the water-side of diesel engine cylinder liners. Photomicrographs from laboratory vibratory cavitation specimens and eroded liners from diesel engines in the field are compared. It is further confirmed that diesel engine liner erosion is usually due to cavitation erosion, caused, in most cases, by vibration of the liner wall. Liner damage is only a special case of general cavitation damage.