This thesis reports a series of studies into textbook authors', teachers', and students' use of analogies to improve students' understanding of abstract chemistry concepts. The five research problems considered: the nature and extent of analogy use in textbooks; the views of textbook authors and editors concerning analogies; how, when, and why analogies were used by experienced chemistry teachers; the development of an instrument to determine chemistry students' understanding of analogies; and how chemistry students use the analogies presented as part of their chemistry instruction. Study one reports the findings of an investigation of ten chemistry textbooks used by Australian students for the nature and extent of analogy inclusion. The study found that, while used sparingly, analogies were employed more frequently in the beginning of textbooks and that the analogies used concrete analog domains to describe abstract target concepts. Study two involved interviews with the authors of eight of the above mentioned textbooks to determine authors' views on analogies and their use in textbooks and teaching. The study identified a relationship between how frequently analogies were used by the author and what he or she considered to be the characteristics of a good chemistry teacher. Each author had a good understanding of the nature of analogy. They appeared to favour analogies embedded in text or placed in margins rather than as post synthesisers or advance organisers. Study three reports an investigation into six chemistry teachers' use of analogies in Western Australia and England. This study found that the teachers drew upon their experiences and professional reading as sources of the analogies that tended to be spontaneously used when they felt their students had not understood an explanation. Study four describes the development of analogy maps, instruments used to determine the effectiveness with which students map given analogies. A rating system enables researchers to compare students' effectiveness at mapping analogies with variables such as analogy type. Studies five and six describe how a combination of interviews and analogy map surveys were used to investigate how students used analogies in chemistry. The study found that students felt more confident with pictorial verbal analogies although they were not necessarily able to map these analogies better than verbal (only) analogies