A survey was made of 1592 patients, over the age of 50 years, who had sustained a fracture of the hip. The mean age was found to be 77 years, and 76.9 per cent (1224/1592) of the patients were women. Trochanteric fractures accounted for 52.5 per cent (836/1592) of the cases and these patients had a higher mean age than those with femoral neck fractures. The average hospitalization time was 24 days and the mortality during the hospital stay was 8.6 per cent (137/1592). Statistical analysis revealed that the hospital mortality rate was related exclusively to the age and the sex. The mortality after 3 months was 17 per cent and that after 6 months 21.5 per cent. The survival rates paralleled the expected rate after 1.6 years but were found to be higher than expected after 2.8 years. The mortality after 1 year was 27 per cent, after 3 years 43 per cent and after 5 years 56 per cent.