A retrospective study was performed to determine the efficacy of intravesical instillation of epirubicin in the prophylactic treatment for recurrent superficial bladder cancer when compared with no treatment controls. Seventeen patients with recurrent superficial bladder cancer received epirubicin (30 mg/40 ml in normal saline) seventeen times after transurethral resection (TUR). Historical controls consist of sixteen patients with recurrent superficial bladder cancer who received no adjuvant treatment after TUR. In the epirubicin group, 1-, 2- and 3-year recurrence free rates were 64.7%, 41.2% and 5.9%, respectively. In controls all of them recurred and 1- and 2-year recurrence free rates were 17.6% and 0%, respectively. The recurrence-free rate was significantly higher in the epirubicin group than in the controls (p < 0.05). We investigated whether intravesical instillation of epirubicin prolonged recurrence-free intervals when compared with recurrence-free intervals without adjuvant treatment after TUR in each patient. The 1- and 2-year recurrence free rates after initial TUR were 25% and 12.5%, respectively, and those with epirubicin treatment after TUR were 62.5% and 37.5%, respectively. Recurrence-free intervals were significantly prolonged by intravesical instillation of epirubicin as compared with those without adjuvant treatment in each patient. This study demonstrated the efficacy of intravesical instillation of epirubicin in the prophylactic treatment for superficial recurrent bladder cancer.