This is a prospective study of seventy three patients with chronic prostatitis over a ten year period (1984-1994. The study was carried out at various hospitals in Lagos Nigeria and Nairobi Kenya. The mean age was 39.3 years. Chronic bacterial prostatitis was diagnosed in 15 patients (20.5%) of which 11 patients (73.3%) had Escherichia coli as the causative pathogen. Four of these patients (36.4%) were symptom and culture free after 12 weeks therapy with trimethoprimsulfamethoxazole. Four of the other seven patients not responding to trimethoprim (57.1%) became symptom and culture free after four weeks therapy with ciproflaxacin. Non bacterial prostatitis including prostatodynia was diagnosed in 58 patients (79.5%). Only 15 of these patients (25.8%) reported some subjective relief of symptoms on emperic therapy with doxycycline with complete relapse on discontinuation of therapy. Further therapy with non steroidal anti-inflammatory ibuprofen and anticholinergic oxybutinin chloride proved effective in alleviating symptoms in 40 patients (68.96%), but all relapsed on discontinuation of therapy emphasizing the ineffective and unsatisfactory nature of the present emperic treatment regimens as the cause of non bacterial prostatitis remains unknown.