The initial development of the Pain Management Inventory (PMI), a precise clinical index of pain management methods intended for use with patients with arthritis, is reported. The PMI differs from available instruments in its intent to assess specific methods that the individual is currently using for arthritis pain management and the perceived helpfulness of these methods, thus providing information to be used in combination with other clinical indicators for planning and evaluating ongoing pain self-management. Sixteen of 17 items, or methods, initially demonstrated content validity. Using methods appropriate for an index of independent items, psychometric testing with a sample of 82 persons having a primary diagnosis of osteoarthritis or rheumatoid arthritis then focused on estimating the construct validity and test-retest reliability of each item. Findings assist in better understanding how various methods relate to overall pain management when it is defined as successfully taking care of or handling the pain as viewed within a cognitive-behavioural framework. Findings suggest that there are eight items that represent valid and reliable pain management methods. These items should be used and evaluated with additional arthritis samples to determine whether the findings replicate.