The purpose of the study was to describe the craniofacial characteristics of Icelandic adults on lateral skull cephalograms. The material consisted of 155 (47.8%) males and 169 (52.5%) females. The mean ages were 35.5 and 34.2 years, respectively. Twenty-two skeletal reference points and 11 soft tissue points were digitized and processed by standard methods with the Dentofacial Planner computer software program. The 45 variables calculated were both angular and linear. Two-sample t-tests were used to study the differences between sexes. Mandibular prognathism was significantly greater in males (P < or = 0.05), but the inclination of both the upper and lower jaws was greater in females (P < or = 0.01). Linear measurements were usually larger for males. The lips were less protrusive in males (P < or = 0.01), but the thickness was greater compared with females (P < or = 0.001). The nose was significantly more protrusive in males (P < or = 0.001). When the Icelandic sample was compared with closely related ethnic groups, such as the Swedes and the Danes, it was interesting to note that the Icelanders seem to be more like the Swedes than the Danes.