Liquid-phase processes with concentrated sulfuric acid or hydrogen fluoride as catalysts are currently being used in petroleum refining for the manufacture of alkylation gasoline from isobutane and butenes. While the product, i.e., alkylate, is a most valuable gasoline component, the existing processes for its manufacture are less satisfactory. Replacement of the liquid catalysts by a solid acid is an important target of modern research, in the past two decades, a large number of solid acids have been scrutinized, and at least four developments were driven till the pilot plant stage. Tn this paper, an attempt is made to rationalize, on a mechanistic basis, the selectivity loss almost always encountered with solid acids after relatively short times-on-stream. Suggestions are made concerning a more target-oriented research on isobutane/alkene alkylation in the future.