  We present a perspective of strange quark matter research in the 1991-2001
decade focused on astrophysics topics, with particular attention to open
problems. We outline the basic concepts and developments in the field, paying
attention to the established research and promising perspectives. An analysis
of the whole literature (experimental searches, theory,
astrophysical/cosmological) serves to point out some general trends, supported
by a fairy complete statistical sample of published works.
