The Didache is difficult to date because it evolved over time and includes quotations from sources, which themselves date from various periods. The first task in attempting to date this text, therefore, is to make a detailed study of its compositional history. Such studies are notoriously inconclusive and have been unpopular amongst the majority of scholars in recent years. However, there can be little doubt that without progress in this direction the extraordinary riches of the Didache will remain hidden forever.

A detailed analysis of the Didache's compositional history is offered in pp. 10-156 of The Gospel of Matthew's Dependence on the Didache. The texts provided on this site indicate the results of that study, where it is concluded that the Didache went through three major stages of evolution. To talk about 'the date of the Didache' is nonsensical, therefore, if the stages of its development are not taken into account.

The focus of interest in what follows is the date of the Didache's base layer - the version that existed before further additions and amendments were made.