In a ten-year review of bladder cancer cases at the University Hospital, Cincinnati, Ohio, there was an apparent increased incidence of squamous cell histology in black patients. We report the findings of our local study as well as the results of our literature search on bladder cancer histology in racial subgroups. Squamous cell carcinoma represents 10 to 15 per cent of bladder cancer cases in blacks and approximately 5 per cent of bladder cancer cases in whites.