The development of a successful crystallization process for purification and isolation of an organic compound requires the selection of a suitable solvent or solvent mixture; to date, no logical method has been established for determining the best solvent combination. The process chemist or engineer often employs a trial-and-error procedure to identify an appropriate solvent system, the success of which is dependent on experience and intuition. This paper describes a strategy for choosing crystallization solvents based upon equilibrium limits. The approach utilizes a group-contribution method (UNIFAC) to predict a value for the activity coefficient of the solute in a given solvent system at the saturation point. This value is then used to calculate the solubility of the solute at a ’high" temperature and a "low" temperature. The resulting solubility values determine the maximum theoretical yield for the process. Both quantities are used to rank order solvents and/or their mixtures relative to one another according to their solvent power and potential process yield. Several examples illustrating the successful application of this method are described, and potential improvements to the algorithm are discussed. Implementation of this strategy will reduce product cycle time, minimize solvent usage, and allow identification of cheaper solvent alternatives.