This paper reviews the status of the phoneme, the basic linguistic unit of phonology as it is understood within Natural Phonology, and the ways in which it contrasts with current mainstream theories – particularly most versions of Generative Phonology on the one hand, and various usage-based view on the other. It concludes by pointing out a number of aspects of phonological acquisition, storage and processing which indicate that there is still a role for the traditional Baudouin/Sapir/Stampe-Donegan view of fully-specified acoustic/articulatory idealized targets.