In Algerian Higher Education, there is no official English for specific purposes (ESP) syllabus; thus, practitioners usually design their own syllabuses. This study examines the challenges that Algerian ESP teachers face while developing syllabuses. In order to investigate this issue, a questionnaire was administered to 20 teachers from different Algerian technical departments (engineering, biology, computer sciences, and architecture) at the universities of (Oran, Tiaret, Saida and Mostaghanem). Results show that practitioners encounter considerable obstacles in the process of syllabus development such as lack of teacher training, lack of a syllabus model, and lack of documentation. Therefore, and in the hope of overcoming these challenges and improving the quality of ESP teaching in Algeria, it is recommended that some work must be done at the ministry level to develop a unified syllabus and textbook for the various disciplines across Algerian universities. Besides and in order to guide Algerian ESP practitioners, this study also suggests a methodology to designing a syllabus in an ESP context.