Increasingly stringent demands are being placed on the surface and bulk metal contamination levels of silicon wafer starting material in order to meet ULSI device requirements. Recombination lifetime measurements are applied in silicon wafer manufacturing to monitor metal contamination from various processes including crystal growth, thermal treatments, cleaning processes, epitaxial growth, and to check final product quality. Applications of recombination lifetime measurements in silicon wafer manufacturing are reviewed. Comparisons of recombination lifetime data are made between measurement techniques.