This paper is an argument for systematic textual analysis as a part of discourse analysis, and an attempt to stimulate debate on this issue between different approaches to discourse analysis. Two types of textual analysis are distinguished: linguistic analysis and intertextual analysis. On the basis of a reanalysis of data samples in papers published in the first four issues of Discourse & Society, the paper argues that diverse approaches to discourse analysis can be enhanced through systematic use of these two forms of analysis, even those which claim a concern with the content rather than the form of texts. It is suggested that textual analysis needs to be based upon a multifunctional theory of language such as systematic-functional linguistics. Finally, the paper suggests theoretical, methodological, historical and political reasons why textual analysis ought to be more widely recognized as a method in social research.