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Conceptualization is fundamentally important to both process understanding and prediction in catchment hydrology. This is reflected in it being a key theme within the Prediction in Ungauged Basins (PUB) science programme, urging a rethink about the different ways in which the form and function of catchment systems are conceptualized (Sivapalan et al., 2003). Towards this goal, an international workshop ‘From Catchment Scale Process Conceptualisation to Predictive Capability’was held in Ballater, Scotland, in 2007 (http://www. abdn. ac. uk/∼ wpg027/w shop. php), which was attended by over 30 hydrologists. In this workshop—which focussed specifically on runoff generation processes—three key questions were asked:(1) What is meant by process conceptualization in catchment hydrology?(2) How do recent developments in data acquisition aid conceptualization? and (3) How do conceptualization and new data interface with hydrological modelling and prediction? This commentary deals with the first of these questions. Two related commentaries will follow, which will consider the issues of data (Soulsby et al., 2008) and prediction (Dunn et al., 2008b). Conceptualization undoubtedly means different things to different hydrologists. Hydrological investigations are inevitably conducted for different reasons, in different geographical environments, and over different timescales. Correspondingly, hydrologists may employ a wide range of different approaches when describing catchment behaviour. The nature of the problem and the approach used have an important bearing on the conceptualization that is needed and the way in which it is …