For a wide class of (dependent) random variables $X_1, X_2, \cdots, X_n$, a limit law is proved for the maximum, with suitable normalization, of $X_1, X_2, \cdots, X_n$. The results are more general in two aspects than the ones obtained earlier by several authors, namely, the stationary of the $X$'s is not assumed and secondly, the assumptions on the dependence of the $X$'s are weaker than those occurring in previous papers. A generalization of the method of inclusion and exclusion is one of the main tools.