Over the period 1950 through 1982, 122 Rochester, Minn residents had their first episode of ocular herpes simplex virus infection, for an age- and sex-adjusted incidence of 8.4 new cases per 100,000 person-years (95% confidence intervals [CI], 6.9 to 9.9 cases). These initial episodes involved lid or conjunctiva in 54%, superficial cornea in 63%, deeper cornea in 6%, and uveitis in 4%. An additional 29 residents had episodes of ocular herpes other than their first. Altogether, these 151 residents had 294 episodes of ocular herpes simplex infection, for an adjusted incidence of 20.7 episodes per 100,000 person-years (95% CI, 18.3 to 23.1 episodes). Age-adjusted rates by sex were comparable. There were no seasonal trends in incidence, but rates increased with time. On January 1, 1980, the prevalence of a history of ocular herpes simplex infection was 149 per 100,000 population (95% CI, 115 to 183).