<DOCUMENT>
<TYPE>EX-99.CERT
<SEQUENCE>2
<FILENAME>dex99cert.txt
<DESCRIPTION>CERTIFICATION PURSUANT TO SECTION 302
<TEXT>
<PAGE>

 Certification Pursuant to Rule 30a-2(a) under the 1940 Act and Section 302 of
                            the Sarbanes-Oxley Act

I, George R. Aylward, certify that:

1.  I have reviewed this report on Form N-Q of The Zweig Total Return Fund,
    Inc.;

2.  Based on my knowledge, this report does not contain any untrue statement of
    a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary to make the
    statements made, in light of the circumstances under which such statements
    were made, not misleading with respect to the period covered by this report;

3.  Based on my knowledge, the schedules of investments included in this report
    fairly present in all material respects the investments of the registrant
    as of the end of the fiscal quarter for which the report is filed;

4.  The registrant's other certifying officer(s) and I are responsible for
    establishing and maintaining disclosure controls and procedures (as defined
    in Rule 30a-3(c) under the Investment Company Act of 1940) and internal
    control over financial reporting (as defined in Rule 30a-3(d) under the
    Investment Company Act of 1940) for the registrant and have:

     (a) Designed such disclosure controls and procedures, or caused such
         disclosure controls and procedures to be designed under our
         supervision, to ensure that material information relating to the
         registrant, including its consolidated subsidiaries, is made known to
         us by others within those entities, particularly during the period in
         which this report is being prepared;

     (b) Designed such internal control over financial reporting, or caused
         such internal control over financial reporting to be designed under
         our supervision, to provide reasonable assurance regarding the
         reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial
         statements for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted
         accounting principles;

     (c) Evaluated the effectiveness of the registrant's disclosure controls
         and procedures and presented in this report our conclusions about the
         effectiveness of the disclosure controls and procedures, as of a date
         within 90 days prior to the filing date of this report, based on such
         evaluation; and

     (d) Disclosed in this report any change in the registrant's internal
         control over financial reporting that occurred during the registrant's
         most recent fiscal quarter that has materially affected, or is
         reasonably likely to materially affect, the registrant's internal
         control over financial reporting; and

<PAGE>

5.  The registrant's other certifying officer(s) and I have disclosed to the
    registrant's auditors and the audit committee of the registrant's board of
    directors (or persons performing the equivalent functions):

     (a) All significant deficiencies and material weaknesses in the design or
         operation of internal control over financial reporting which are
         reasonably likely to adversely affect the registrant's ability to
         record, process, summarize, and report financial information; and

     (b) Any fraud, whether or not material, that involves management or other
         employees who have a significant role in the registrant's internal
         control over financial reporting.


Date: November 24, 2009               /s/ George R. Aylward
                                      -----------------------------------
                                      George R. Aylward, President
                                      (principal executive officer)

<PAGE>

 Certification Pursuant to Rule 30a-2(a) under the 1940 Act and Section 302 of
                            the Sarbanes-Oxley Act

I, Nancy G. Curtiss, certify that:

1.  I have reviewed this report on Form N-Q of The Zweig Total Return Fund,
    Inc.;

2.  Based on my knowledge, this report does not contain any untrue statement of
    a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary to make the
    statements made, in light of the circumstances under which such statements
    were made, not misleading with respect to the period covered by this report;

3.  Based on my knowledge, the schedules of investments included in this report
    fairly present in all material respects the investments of the registrant
    as of the end of the fiscal quarter for which the report is filed;

4.  The registrant's other certifying officer(s) and I are responsible for
    establishing and maintaining disclosure controls and procedures (as defined
    in Rule 30a-3(c) under the Investment Company Act of 1940) and internal
    control over financial reporting (as defined in Rule 30a-3(d) under the
    Investment Company Act of 1940) for the registrant and have:

     (a) Designed such disclosure controls and procedures, or caused such
         disclosure controls and procedures to be designed under our
         supervision, to ensure that material information relating to the
         registrant, including its consolidated subsidiaries, is made known to
         us by others within those entities, particularly during the period in
         which this report is being prepared;

     (b) Designed such internal control over financial reporting, or caused
         such internal control over financial reporting to be designed under
         our supervision, to provide reasonable assurance regarding the
         reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial
         statements for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted
         accounting principles;

     (c) Evaluated the effectiveness of the registrant's disclosure controls
         and procedures and presented in this report our conclusions about the
         effectiveness of the disclosure controls and procedures, as of a date
         within 90 days prior to the filing date of this report, based on such
         evaluation; and

     (d) Disclosed in this report any change in the registrant's internal
         control over financial reporting that occurred during the registrant's
         most recent fiscal quarter that has materially affected, or is
         reasonably likely to materially affect, the registrant's internal
         control over financial reporting; and

<PAGE>

5.  The registrant's other certifying officer(s) and I have disclosed to the
    registrant's auditors and the audit committee of the registrant's board of
    directors (or persons performing the equivalent functions):

     (a) All significant deficiencies and material weaknesses in the design or
         operation of internal control over financial reporting which are
         reasonably likely to adversely affect the registrant's ability to
         record, process, summarize, and report financial information; and

     (b) Any fraud, whether or not material, that involves management or other
         employees who have a significant role in the registrant's internal
         control over financial reporting.


Date: November 23, 2009               /s/ Nancy G. Curtiss
                                      -----------------------------------
                                      Nancy G. Curtiss, Treasurer
                                      (principal financial officer)
</TEXT>
</DOCUMENT>
