With the proliferation of ISDN and mobile communication systems, modern commu nication networks are becoming larger-scale, higher-speed, and more complex than ever before. Therefore, besides hardware development, extensive research on system technolo gies with respect to the performance evaluation and management is indispensable for the proper design, development and operation of future complex communication networks. The International Conference on the Performance and Management of Complex Com munication Systems (PMCCN '97) was held from November 17 to 21, 1997, at Tsukuba Science City, Japan. This was the fifth international conference on the performance as pects of communication networks held every three years in Japan (1985 in Tokyo; 1988, 1991, and 1994 in Kyoto). The conference was sponsored by the International Federa tion of Information Processing (IFIP) Working Group (WG) 6.3 Performance of Com munication Systems, and 7.3 Computer System Modelling, University of Tsukuba, Kyoto University, and The Telecommunication Advancement Foundation (TAF).