Abstract: Several heuristic algorithms for task allocation in distributed systems are introduced in this paper. They include the heuristic algorithm originated by Efe. the network flow based algorithm given by Lo. the graph matching algorithm designed by Shen and Tsai, and the general heuristic algorithm proposed by the authors We potnl out two flaws existing in the Shen and Tsai's approach We analyze and compare all these algorithms according to their premise assumptions which prescrtbe the availability of the algorithms with respect to different network configurations