Hodgkin's disease (HD) varies in prevalence, morphologic findings, and association with Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) in different parts of the world. HD in the Philippines and its relationship to EBV has not been studied. We reviewed all cases of HD in the Philippines for the years 1989 to 1994, diagnosed at three large hospitals in Manila and Cavite. During this study period, 68,121 surgical specimens were accessioned, of which there were 21 cases (0.03%) of HD. There were 11 males and nine females; sex was unknown in one case. The median age was 22 yr (range, 11 to 64 yr). Thirteen cases occurred in patients less than 30 yr old, including six of 11 males and seven of nine females. The remaining cases were distributed among other age groups, with five cases in males occurring after the age of 50 yr. There were 10 cases of nodular sclerosis, nine cases of mixed cellularity, and two cases of nodular lymphocytic predominance. Nine cases were positive for EBV latent membrane protein: six of nine mixed cellularity and three of 10 nodular sclerosis. In situ hybridization confirmed the immunohistochemical results, and revealed EBV RNA predominantly in Reed-Sternberg and Hodgkin cells. A few small lymphocytes were also positive in many cases. These results suggest that HD is uncommon in the Philippines, similar to other Asian countries such as Japan. However, the age distribution and histologic subtypes of HD in the Philippines seem to be more similar to that of Western industrialized countries such as the United States. EBV was present in a subset of cases, most frequently in mixed cellularity.