Public enterprise has long been an important instrument of public intervention in the development process in Nigeria. So, from within the public sector, there has been in the country emergence and development of public enterprises that combine the characteristics of public administration with some key attributes of a private enterprise. These entities are usually created because of the desire to infuse more flexibility and more efficiency in the organisation of some government activities. This sector, however, has been facing serious challenges from privatisation movement since the mid-1970 as its theories and assumptions came under severe attack. The size and importance of the sector has since been declining. This paper, therefore, attempted to assess the performance of public enterprises in the country on two issues - autonomy issues and return on investment. The study used mainly secondary data for its analysis. It was revealed that the quantifiable return on the large volume of investment in the public enterprise sector in Nigeria, for example, was not seen as satisfactory in the light of the realities of the country's economy in the 1980s. Almost all the enterprises operated at sub-optimal levels. There were huge losses in many cases, and these losses were charged against public treasury.It was, therefore, recommended that achieving improved performance in public enterprise sector in Nigeria requires more far-reaching reforms and greater commitment on the part of government.