485BPOS
2012-08-31
0000075176
2013-01-01
DREYFUS BOND FUNDS INC
false
2012-12-27
2013-01-01
<tt>The fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells<br />securities (or "turns over" its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover may<br />indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when fund<br />shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in<br />annual fund operating expenses or in the example, affect the fund's performance.<br />During the most recent fiscal year, the fund's portfolio turnover rate was<br />27.88% of the average value of its portfolio.</tt>
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<tt>The fund seeks to maximize current income exempt from federal income tax, to the<br />extent consistent with the preservation of capital.</tt>
<tt>The Example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the fund<br />with the cost of investing in other mutual funds. The Example assumes that you<br />invest $10,000 in the fund for the time periods indicated and then redeem all <br />of your shares at the end of those periods. The Example also assumes that your<br />investment has a 5% return each year and that the fund's operating expenses<br />remain the same. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on<br />these assumptions your costs would be:</tt>
reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes
<tt>To pursue its goal, the fund normally invests substantially all of its net<br />assets in municipal bonds that provide income exempt from federal income tax.<br />The fund will invest at least 75% of its assets in municipal bonds rated A or<br />higher, or the unrated equivalent as determined by The Dreyfus Corporation. The<br />fund may invest up to 25% of its assets in municipal bonds rated below A or the<br />unrated equivalent as determined by The Dreyfus Corporation, including bonds of<br />below investment grade credit quality ("high yield" or "junk" bonds).<br /> <br />The dollar-weighted average maturity of the fund's portfolio is not restricted,<br />but normally exceeds ten years.<br /> <br />The portfolio managers focus on identifying undervalued sectors and securities.<br />To select municipal bonds for the fund, the portfolio managers use fundamental<br />credit analysis to estimate the relative value and attractiveness of various<br />sectors and securities and actively trade among various sectors, based on their<br />apparent relative values.<br /> <br />Although the fund seeks to provide income exempt from federal income tax, income<br />from some of its holdings may be subject to the federal alternative minimum tax.<br />In addition, the fund may invest temporarily in taxable obligations. During such<br />periods, the fund may not achieve its investment objective.</tt>
Fund Summary
Example
After-tax returns are calculated using the historical highest individual federal
marginal tax rates, and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes.
Investment Objective
The fund's past performance (before and after taxes) is not necessarily an indicator of how the fund will perform in the future.
The fund's share price fluctuates, sometimes dramatically, which means you could lose money.
Principal Risks
0.2788
Actual after-tax returns depend on the investor's tax situation and may differ from those
shown, and the after tax returns shown are not relevant to investors who hold their shares
through tax-deferred arrangements such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts.
Year-by-Year Total Returns as of 12/31 each year (%)
Performance
The bar chart shows changes in the performance of the fund's shares from year to year.
<tt>Best Quarter                  <br />Q3, 2009: 8.15%               <br />Worst Quarter                 <br />Q4, 2010: -5.04%              <br />The fund's year-to-date total return as of 9/30/12 was 6.71%.</tt>
Annual Fund Operating Expenses (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)
Average Annual Total Returns (as of 12/31/11)
<tt>The bar chart shows changes in the performance of the fund's shares from year <br />to year.</tt>
Portfolio Turnover
<tt>An investment in the fund is not a bank deposit. It is not insured or guaranteed<br />by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) or any other government<br />agency. It is not a complete investment program. The fund's share price<br />fluctuates, sometimes dramatically, which means you could lose money.<br /> <br />o Municipal bond market risk. The amount of public information available about<br />municipal bonds is generally less than that for corporate equities or bonds.<br />Special factors, such as legislative changes, and state and local economic and<br />business developments, may adversely affect the yield and/or value of the fund's<br />investments in municipal bonds. Other factors include the general conditions of<br />the municipal bond market, the size of the particular offering, the maturity of<br />the obligation and the rating of the issue. Changes in economic, business or<br />political conditions relating to a particular municipal project, municipality,<br />or state in which the fund invests may have an impact on the fund's share price.<br /> <br />o Interest rate risk. Prices of municipal bonds tend to move inversely with<br />changes in interest rates. Typically, a rise in rates will adversely affect bond<br />prices and, accordingly, the fund's share price. The longer the effective<br />maturity and duration of the fund's portfolio, the more the fund's share price<br />is likely to react to interest rates.<br /> <br />o Credit risk. Failure of an issuer to make timely interest or principal<br />payments, or a decline or perception of a decline in the credit quality of a<br />municipal bond, can cause the bond's price to fall, potentially lowering the<br />fund's share price. The lower a bond's credit rating, the greater the chance -<br />in the rating agency's opinion - that the bond issuer will default or fail to<br />meet its payment obligations. To the extent the fund invests in high yield<br />("junk") bonds, its portfolio is subject to heightened credit risk.<br /> <br />o Liquidity risk. When there is little or no active trading market for specific<br />types of securities, it can become more difficult to sell the securities at or<br />near their perceived value. In such a market, the value of such securities and<br />the fund's share price may fall dramatically, even during periods of declining<br />interest rates. The secondary market for certain municipal bonds tends to be<br />less well developed or liquid than many other securities markets, which may<br />adversely affect the fund's ability to sell such municipal bonds at attractive<br />prices.</tt>
Fees and Expenses
Principal Investment Strategy
www.dreyfus.com
<tt>The following bar chart and table provide some indication of the risks of<br />investing in the fund. The table compares the average annual total returns <br />of the fund's shares to those of a broad measure of market performance.<br />The fund's past performance (before and after taxes) is not necessarily an<br />indicator of how the fund will perform in the future. More recent performance<br />information may be available at www.dreyfus.com.</tt>
<tt>This table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold<br />shares of the fund.</tt>
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<tt>After-tax returns are calculated using the historical highest individual federal<br />marginal tax rates, and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes.<br />Actual after-tax returns depend on the investor's tax situation and may differ<br />from those shown, and the after tax returns shown are not relevant to investors<br />who hold their shares through tax-deferred arrangements such as 401(k) plans or<br />individual retirement accounts.</tt>
An investment in the fund is not a bank deposit. It is not insured or guaranteed by
the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) or any other government agency.
Barclays Municipal Bond Index reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes
0.1070
0.0522
0.0538
Fund returns after taxes on distributions and sale of fund shares
0.0823
0.0386
0.0442
Fund returns after taxes on distributions
0.1036
0.0379
0.0441
DRTAX
0.0718
Worst Quarter
Best Quarter
2012-09-30
Fund returns before taxes
77
2009-09-30
240
-0.0504
0.0427
0.0105
930
417
0.0112
0.0815
0.1036
0.0015
-0.0845
0.0060
2010-12-31
0.1665
0.0379
0.0392
The fund's year-to-date total return
0.1036
0.0461
0.0441
0.0075
0.0517
0.0671
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Other expenses include interest expense associated with the fund's investment in inverse floaters. Not shown in the table is the additional income generated by these investments which was approximately the same as the interest expense.