OBJECTIVE Newborns affected by congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH) are high-risk patients: today the mortality is still elevated and is essentially due to severe pulmonary hypoplasia, pulmonary hypertension and the absence of surfactant. High-Frequency Oscillatory Ventilation (HFOV) seems to be a good pre- and postoperative technique in cases of CDH. METHODS We report our experience in the treatment of CDH; since 1987 we have followed 44 patients. We divided them into two different groups in accordance with the ventilation technique used: Group I (1987-1994): 25 patients treated with conventional mechanical ventilation (CMV); Group II (1994-1997): 19 patients treated with HFOV used since the first day of life until clinical stabilisation and also prolonged during surgery and in the postoperative period. RESULTS 37 patients (84%) underwent surgery with closure of the diaphragmatic defect. We had a very good improvement in survival, rising from 67% (CMV) to 94% (HFOV) of the patients operated on, reaching an overall survival of 56% vs 79%. CONCLUSIONS The use of HFOV for the treatment of CDH has proved to be a valuable technique for pre-operative stabilisation and for intra- and postoperative respiratory treatment, above all for newborns with CDH.