Recent studies indicate that cancer of the tongue is increasing rapidly among the younger population in many parts of the world. Few studies, however, have directly examined the risk factors for the disease. A case-control study was conducted in Beijing, China to investigate risk factors for tongue cancer. A total of 111 cases and 111 controls aged 20-80 years were included in this study. The results show that risk of tongue cancer is significantly elevated among ex-smokers (OR = 2.24, 95% CI = 1.09-4.62) and among current smokers (OR = 2.73, 95% CI = 1.26-5.91). The risk increases with increasing tobacco consumption, as reflected by both cigarette equivalents smoked per day and lifetime pack-years of tobacco smoking. Quitting smoking was associated with a reduction of the risk of tongue cancer. The numbers of cases in the study, however, is small, preventing further analyses during the years after quitting smoking. Overall, alcohol drinking was not found to be significantly associated with the risk of tongue cancer in this study (OR = 1.20, 95% CI = 0.58-2.50 for current drinkers). However, a marginally significant association was found for those who drank spirits at least 5 days a week (OR = 2.34, 95% CI = 0.90-6.06). A suggestion of effect modification for smoking and alcohol drinking was observed in this study.