Chronic non-specific sialadenitis of the parotid gland is an insidious inflammatory disorder which is characterised by intermittent, often painful, swelling of the gland. The disease tends to progress and may lead to the formation of a fibrous mass. The purpose of this paper is to review our experience in the surgical management of patients with chronic non-specific parotid sialadenitis. In a consecutive series of 100 patients treated for benign parotid disease, 19 were found to have chronic non-specific sialadenitis; 10 were male and 9 female. Mean age was 46 years and the mean duration of symptoms was 4.6 years. Sialography was performed in two-thirds of the patients and 17 patients were treated by superficial parotidectomy. Thirteen patients developed temporary facial nerve weakness and three Frey's syndrome. Three patients complained of temporary paraesthesia of the cheek, and two developed painful neuroma of the greater auricular nerve. Although there were two cases of infection of the parotid duct remnant, no recurrence of deep lobe sialadenitis or fistula formation was noted. Histologically, 3 lesions showed mild chronic sialadenitis, the rest had widespread involvement of the gland, and prolonged duration of symptoms was associated with extensive and severe involvement of the gland. Superficial parotidectomy has a very high success rate, with minimal long-term complications, and should be offered early in established cases, to reduce unnecessary morbidity.