Abstract：Abstract: The development from critical discourse analysis (CDA) to critical discourse studies (CDS) is seen in its new research topics, and “discursive interaction” is one of these. New social issues of the 21st century have replaced the old ones of the CDA’s concern in the 1980s and the 1990s, becoming the new focus CDS, thus triggering new research topics such as “discursive interaction” that invites more theoretical thinking. This article is an attempt to define the concept of “discursive interaction”, to discuss its disciplinary foundation in CDS and its sociological and sociolinguistic research traditions, and to delineate the similarities and differences among “discursive interaction”, “symbolic interaction” and “speech interaction”. In so doing, it highlights that the study of “discursive interaction” in the first two decades of the 21st century has shown the potentials of theoretical development in CDS. Key words: critical discourse studies; new agenda; discursive interaction; symbolic interaction; verbal interaction
