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Abstract Due to the scarcity of land for urban development, Brownfield Redevelopment (BR) is considered a sustainable urban land tool in developed countries, but its adoption in developing countries remains in its infancy. Barriers impeding BR need to be investigated in detail. However, few studies have analyzed barriers to BR in developing countries. This study aims to analyze the critical barriers to BR in Pakistan by using a two-stage methodology including the Fuzzy Delphi Method (FDM) and Structural Equation Modeling (SEM). Initially, 41 barriers were identified through a comprehensive literature review. FDM screened out 33 barriers through expert opinion. Survey questionnaires were sent to major stakeholders involved in the BR process. Finally, valid responses were analyzed using SEM to verify and rank the most critical barriers. Study results indicated 26 critical barriers. The top five critical barriers were lack of policy incentives, the complexity of public-private partnerships, lack of professional and technical personnel, the conflict between stakeholders, and lack of awareness of environmental law. A comparative analysis of barriers to BR in Pakistan and other countries including the USA, Canada, the UK, Germany, and China showed that critical barriers vary by country. Furthermore, factor analysis results extracted five major categories for 26 critical barriers, including political and legal barriers, financial and economic barriers, technical and operational barriers, management system barriers, and environmental barriers. The most dominant barrier category was technical and operational barriers, impeding BR in Pakistan. This study creates value in the BR literature by identifying the most critical barriers to BR in a developing country. It could support practitioners and land use policy makers in developing appropriate strategies to promote BR. Highlights • A comprehensive literature review is compiled on barriers to brownfield redevelopment. • A novel framework is developed to identify the critical barriers to brownfield redevelopment in developing countries. • The two-stage solution methodology consists of the Fuzzy Delphi Method and Structural Equation Modeling. • A novel framework is described with a case study of a developing country, Pakistan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]