A double-blind study was carried out in 30 female patients with generalized anxiety disorders associated with depressive symptoms to compare the effectiveness and tolerability of etizolam and alprazolam. Patients were allocated at random to receive one or other drug at a dosage of 0.5 mg twice daily for 5 weeks. Assessments were made on entry and after 3 and 5 weeks of treatment using the Hamilton rating scales for anxiety and for depression. The results showed that both drugs had marked anxiolytic and antidepressive activity, there being significant reductions after treatment in mean total rating scores compared to baseline. Although there was no statistically significant difference between the two drugs, there was a trend for etizolam to be more effective in relieving anxiety somatization symptoms. Apart from moderate daytime drowsiness in a few patients, both drugs were considered to be extremely well tolerated.