A first Symposium on Dynamics of Multibody Systems was held August 29 September 3, 1977 , under the chairmanship of - Prof. Dr. K. Magnus in Munich, FRG. Since that -time considerable progress has been made in the dynamics of multibody systems, a discipline renderin~ essential services to the fields of robotics, biomechanics, spacecraft control, road and rail vehicle design, and dynamics of machinery. Therefore, the International Union of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics (IUTAM) has initiated and sponsored, in cooperation with the International 'c Federation for Theory of Machines and Mechanisms (IFToMM), a Symposium on Dynamics of Multibody Systems, held at the International Centre of Mechanical Sciences (CISM) in Udine, Italy, ~eptember 16-20, 1985. The aims of the symposium were to generate knowledge, to stimulate research, to disseminate new ideas, and to acquaint the scientific community in general with the work currently in progress in the area of multibody dynamics. A Scientific Committee has been appointed consisting of G. Bianch~ (Co-Chairman), Italy; T.R. Kane, USA; R. Kawai, Japan; D.M. Klimov, USSR; K. Magnus, FRG; F. Niordson, Denmark; A.D. de Pater, The Netherlands; B. Roth, U~A; W. Schiehlen (Co-Chairman), FRG; J. Wittenburg, FRG.