Fifteen cases of acinic cell carcinoma of the salivary glands were evaluated retrospectively with respect to histological and clinical data. DNA content assessment was carried out in six cases by cytophotometry. The majority of tumors were located in the parotid gland and were Stage I at presentation. There was a female predominance and the mean age at primary diagnosis was 51.2 years for females and 41.0 for males. The solid-acinar cell pattern was the most frequently observed and the tumors were 'diploid' in all the six cases studied. Surgery was the therapeutic modality in all cases (enucleation in seven, superficial parotidectomy in three and total parotidectomy in five) and, in four of them, was complemented with radiotherapy. The clinical course was characterized by recurrence in 10 cases, metastases occurred in three patients and one patient died of the tumor. Of the seven recurrent cases, six were treated by enucleation and one by superficial parotidectomy. The histological pattern showed no correlation with the clinical course or DNA content. Acinic cell carcinoma has a significant morbidity with a high recurrence rate which seems to be largely influenced by the type of surgery employed. Wide surgical excision of the neoplasia, which includes total parotidectomy in the parotid cases, is recommended in order to reduce the frequency of recurrence of the tumor.