Sixty-nine patients with chordoma were seen at the Christie Hospital, Manchester, between 1932 and 1980. Fifty-three per cent of the tumours were located in the sacrococcygeal region and 24% in the clivus region. Forty-eight patients were treated with radiotherapy, and the 10-year survival for the whole group was 23%. There was no difference in survival between the two major sites. Patients who had radical surgery and radical radiotherapy achieved better palliation and longer survival. Sixteen per cent of the patients developed metastases.