The present article details two exploratory studies on the nature of fatherhood and on the behavioral and psychological characteristics that define a good father. In the first study, 374 adult men who were fathers of at least one child responded to an open-ended question regarding the attributes of a good father. Inductive analyses of their responses yielded a 20-item list of referents. The second study involved 99 pairs of fathers and adolescent or young adult sons who responded to the same question. Their responses were coded along the same dimensions and were compared within dyads and with the results from the first study. Implications for future study on fatherchild relationships are discussed.