The main purpose of this paper is to give insight into dual rate predictive control. First it gives an overview of common techniques deployed in the design of predictive control and then discusses how these have been modified for use on dual-rate systems. It is also shown how the approaches vary with differing model availability and the repercussions this can have on the control design. The key contribution is then to expose common pitfalls for the control designer and suggest some simple remedies. Some discussion is also given to robustness analysis and the relationship with the respective sample rates. (C) 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.