Malignant rhabdoid tumors (MRT) are rare; thus very few cytogenetic studies of this type of tumor have been performed. We report the results of cytogenetic studies of 10 MRTs from various anatomic primary sites. Six cases had normal diploid karyotypes with no detectable rearrangements or aneuploidy except for occasional tetraploid cells. In 4 of these cases the tumor phenotype was verified by electron microscopic studies. In a seventh case only normal cells were identified in short-term culture, but a del(13)(q14) appeared after 4 months in culture. A soft tissue MRT contained a translocation, t(8;15)(q12;p11), and a liver MRT contained a del(3)(q21) or t(3;?)(q21;?). The single case of a primary brain MRT had monosomy 22 with deletion of part of the remaining chromosome 22. Our findings indicate that visible chromosomal rearrangements occur in fewer than half of MRTs. When combined with other reported series, our study indicates that monosomy 22 is a non-random chromosomal abnormality in primary MRT of the brain.