Published reports vary greatly in their estimation of the incidence of prostatic carcinoma. To obtain statistically valid data on the occurrence of this entity in the elderly, serial sections of the entire prostate obtained at 57 consecutive autopsies in males eighty years of age and over were analyzed. The incidence of prostatic carcinoma in this group was 66.7 per cent. The stage and grade of lesions are noted, and a correlation between specimen weight and incidence of malignancy is confirmed. Apparently disparate reports are analyzed.