This paper discusses fouling in reverse osmosis in terms of the critical flux of foulants and the fouling mechanisms based on hydraulic resistance and loss of driving force due to cake-enhanced osmotic pressure (CEOP). In many cases CEOP is the dominant effect and this is exacerbated by the use of constant flux processing. The implications of increasing critical flux are described and the potential benefit of using AC field gradients to do this is illustrated for a model foulant.