Twenty-three patients with rheumatoid arthritis whose disease had become stabilized while receiving non-steroidal, anti-inflammatory drugs and/or gold salt injections entered an 8 week crossover study in which the effect of a compression glove worn during sleep was compared to a loosely fitting glove made of the same material. Improvement in hand symptoms was greater with the compression glove than with the control glove as regards morning stiffness, pain, night time throbbing, numbness or heaviness and a subjective assessment of swelling (p = 0.01). In addition, swelling of the proximal interphalangeal joints was slightly reduced (p = 0.05). These data suggest that the night time use of compression gloves in patients with rheumatoid arthritis can improve hand symptoms and exert a mild, transiently beneficial effect upon the degree of hand swelling.