It is widely recognized that desertification is a serious threat to arid and semiarid environments—which cover 40% of the global land surface and are populated by approximately 1 billion humans. Given the potential relevance of this problem, it is surprising that there is no consensus on the proper way to assess the desertification status of a piece of land. During the last 70 years, conflicting definitions have produced both different assessment methodologies and divergent estimates. Contrary to conceptual issues on desertification, assessment methodologies have not been reviewed comprehensively. Here, we critically review the most common methodologies to assess desertification, and describe their principal consequences on scientific and social arenas.We show that desertification assessment has shifted from simple appraisals of the interannual movement of desert boundaries to complex multivariate field surveys, to practical methodologies based on indicators of ecosystem functioning, such as rain use efficiency. Although often regarded as an evidence of stagnation and failure, these methodologies reflect the progress that desertification ecology has experienced. Future challenges for properly assessing desertification are (1) the lack of reference situations against which actual desertification could be compared, and (2) the difficulties that appear when desertification operates through structural rather than functional ecosystem changes.The coexistence of conflicting definitions and divergent estimates negatively affects societal perception, leading to scepticism and, ultimately, to a delay of eventual solutions. Societies must recognize the progress desertification ecology has made, leave behind concepts that no longer represent current knowledge, grasp the opportunity to better assess the extent and intensity of the problem, and, for the time being, realize that assessing desertification is an unsolved issue.