A histopathological study of regional lymph nodes was made in 50 patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the larynx in order to evaluate their prognostic significance for survival. Factors related with poor prognosis were presence and number of lymph node metastases and capsule rupture. The presence and grade of sinus histiocytosis was related with survival. In multivariate analysis, the presence of five or more metastatic nodes had an independent influence on survival.