Analysis of 165 studies (representing the testing of 1,418,899 subjects) that reported data on gender differences in verbal ability indicated a slight female superiority in performance. The difference is so small that it appears that gender differences in verbal ability no longer exist. A major goal was also to define age trends in the pattern of gender differences. Analyses of effect sizes for different measures of verbal ability showed almost all to be small in magnitude; these measures covered vocabulary, analogies, reading comprehension, speech production, essay writing, anagrams, and general verbal ability. For the 1985 administration of the Scholastic Aptitude Test, verbal scores showed superior male performance. Analysis of tests requiring different cognitive processes involved in verbal ability gave no evidence of substantial gender differences in any aspect of processing. An analysis by age showed no striking changes in the magnitude of gender differences at different ages, countering E. E. Maccoby and C. N. Jacklin's conclusion that gender differences in verbal ability emerge at about 11 years of age. Comparison of studies published in 1973 or earlier with subsequent studies indicates a slight decline in the magnitude of the gender differences in recent years. These findings have implications for theories of sex differences in brain lateralization and changing gender roles. (Six tables are presented, and a list of 165 studies used in the meta-analysis is appended.) (Author/TJH)