In this work recent developments in the ~tudy of non-l1near dynamicsrn. .rn. as applied to dissipative systems/those which exhibit erratic (orrnchaotic) behavior, are reviewed. As these systems posses~ cllaotic"rnattractors much emphasis is placed on characterization of these sets.rnIn particular the reconstruction of an attractor from a measure~signalrn(single variable) is stressed. Experimental illustration as to how thernmethods of non-linear dynamics are applied in characterization ofrnchaotic attractors are briefly reviewed from"different fields