Background and purpose: Ekkekakis and Petruzzello (Psychology of Sport and Exercise 2 (2001) 1-26) have presented an inaccurate critique of the Exercise-Induced Feeling Inventory (EFI; Gauvin and Rejeski (J. Sport Exercise Psychol. 15 (1993) 403)), a measurement instrument that we developed several years ago. In the current paper, we formulate a threefold rebuttal to the arguments advanced by Ekkekakis and Petruzzello.Methods: First, we identify selected misinterpretations and misconceptions in the critique that, if ignored, could jeopardise future advancements in this area. Next, we review extant research on the EFI and highlight what has been learned from 13 empirical studies with this measure over the past eight years. Finally, we outline a research agenda for overcoming what we perceive to be limitations of the EFI and for advancing knowledge on feeling state outcomes associated with involvement in physical activity.Conclusions: Much of the critique by Ekkekakis and Petruzzello is rhetoric rather than substance. The EFI has been useful in stimulating new research and thinking about the role of physical activity in ameliorating mental health and health-related quality of life.