Data from three recent surveys in Zimbabwe suggest that over the past decade contraceptive prevalence has been far higher than in any other country of sub-Saharan Africa, except for South Africa. Despite this high level of contraceptive prevalence, fertility has fallen only slightly below the level associated with the practice of natural fertility. It is strange to observe such high fertility together with high contraceptive prevalence in Zimbabwe. There have been many attempts in recent years to explain Zimbabwe's high fertility rate relative to its level of contraceptive use. This paper evaluates these different explanations and constructs with the use of Demographic and Health Survey data as complete a picture as possible of the relationship between fertility and contraceptive prevalence in the country.