There is a widely shared belief that Asian Americans have overcome the bondage of racial discrimination to become a successful model minority. In this essay, the empirical basis of this success contention is examined against its historical background and the remifications of the belief are explored. First, the ascendance of the Asian American success theme in the late 1960s is traced. The portrayal of Asian Americans as a hardworking, successful group is contrasted to popular racist beliefs held about blacks. Second, recent research on Asian Americans is examined. It is argued that available evidence does not warrant the image of this group's success because typical indicators of success, such as education and income, have not been properly adjusted for extraneous factors. Finally, several consequences of the success myth are identified. It is held that: (1) Asian Americans, particularly the young people, resent the success contention as a device of political exploitation; (2) a pattern of occupational segregation for Asian Americans limits occupational aspiration and choices of Asian American youth; and (3) Asian Americans experience a sense of lost identity and attribute this feeling to the pressures of assimilation and to their ancestors' concern for survival. (Author/GC)