The purpose of this study is to investigate the relapse factors of alcoholic patients by means of the application of the Grounded theory(Strauss & Corbin, 1991), therefore introduce the variables and Proposition which had been neglected in the previous studies. As a result of this investigation, I　hope to provide the information we need in order to improve the rehabilitation programs for alcoholic patients as well as the fundamental knowledge required to facilitate the rehabilitation process of alcoholic patients. The subjects of this study are 11 patients who had been diagnosed with alcoholism and were later reinstitutionalized at hospital D located in Busan. The data were collected by means of in-depth interviews and partial participant observation. The interview lasted average one hour per person and was conducted once for each of the patients. The research began in October, 2001 and ended in April, 2002. The data were collected as a result of interviews I conducted, and were analyzed by the methods proposed by Strauss and Corbin (1991). The major category which has been found in the relapse of the alcoholic patients is “a stage in the process of recovery or a stage in the chronic progression of alcoholism”. The other categories include pessimistic behaviors, physical discomfort, alcohol craving, multiple stress situation, absence of hope or meaning of life, feeling of isolation, expectation for controlling drinking, lack of familial understanding or support for alcoholism, discontinuation of treatment or nonattendance of AA meetings, personality problems, low awareness level of the past alcohol abuse, social pressure of alcohol consumption. As a result of the data, I have derived the following Proposition. (1) Patients tend to have expectation for controlled drinking without a clear perception of alcohol abuse. (2) Alcohol craving is a chronic phenomenon regardless of the period of soberness. (3) Lack of familial understanding or support for alcoholism aggravates codependency. (4) Multiple stress situations and social pressure for drinking pose risks to maintaining sober period. (5) Personality problems deteriorate as alcoholism advances. (6) Pessimistic behaviors and physical discomfort cause longing for drinking. (7) Nonattendance of AA meetings and discontinuation of recovery activities are a sign of relapse of alcoholism. (8) As alcoholism advances, the feeling of isolation gets stronger. (9) The motivation of abstinence becomes weaker when a continuing observation on alcohol abuse is not present. (10) Having hopes or meanings of life strengthens the motivation of abstinence.