Southeast Asia, which includes Taiwan, has one of the highest incidences of oral cancer in the world. From a public health or a clinical dental viewpoint, it is important to study the epidemiologic characteristics of oral cancer in Taiwan. This paper presents epidemiologic data on oral cancer in Taiwan from 1981-1986. The data, gathered from Cancer Registry Center, Department of Health, Executive Yuan, ROC, is studied using the descriptive method. The age-standardized incidence rates for males and females were 4.45/100,000 and 1.42/100,000, respectively. The cumulative incidence rate (0-79 years) was 0.59% for males and 0.19% for females, respectively. The average age was 52.0 years for males and 53.4 years for females. The male/female ratio was 3:1. The most frequently affected sites were the tongue for males and major salivary glands for females. The incident rates were found to be significantly higher in central Taiwan, especially for males. Epidermoid carcinoma was the most common histopathologic type of oral cancer for both sexes.