When first released, the film was reviewed positively by "New York Times" critic Vincent Canby, who wrote that the film "is no match for stories in your local newspaper", but it benefits from good acting and directing. "Variety" called it a B movie that was given a big budget despite its lack of substance. Roger Ebert wrote, ""Three Days of the Condor" is a well-made thriller, tense and involving, and the scary thing, in these months after Watergate, is that it's all too believable."