Studies of the development of acoustoelectronic instability in AIIIBV and AIIBVI bulk piezosemiconductors are reviewed. The results of the classical theory of linear and nonlinear acoustoelectronic interactions are briefly summarized and the energy approach to this problem is discussed. An analysis is then given of the properties of instabilities and of instability development, including coherence effects. Experimental methods are briefly surveyed with particular reference to the fundamentals of the most effective method, namely, Mandel'shtam–Brillouin scattering. The results of the most significant experiments are presented, and an attempt is made to interpret them in terms of a unified model. It is emphasized that the high gain regime, in which a propagating acoustoelectronic domain is produced, requires further investigation.