Analytic　hierarchy　process　(AHP)　has　been　criticized　for　its　possible　rank　reversal　phenomenon　caused　by　the　addition　or　deletion　of　an　alternative.　This　paper　shows　the　fact　that　the　rank　reversal　phenomenon　occurs　not　only　in　the　AHP　but　also　in　many　other　decision　making　approaches　such　as　the　Borda-Kendall　(BK)　method　for　aggregating　ordinal　preferences,　the　simple　additive　weighting　(SAW)　method,　the　technique　for　order　preference　by　similarity　to　ideal　solution　(TOPSIS)　method,　and　the　cross-efficiency　evaluation　method　in　data　envelopment　analysis　(DEA).　Numerical　examples　are　provided　to　illustrate　the　rank　reversal　phenomenon　in　these　popular　decision　making　approaches.　©　2008　Elsevier　Ltd.　All　rights　reserved.