Dislocation is a serious complication of total hip arthroplasty occurring in up to 9% of cases. Recurrent dislocation accounts for 4% of revisions in the Swedish Hip Arthroplasty Study. Soft tissue balancing is one of the factors, independent of the surgical approach used, that is involved in producing a stable total hip replacement. We describe a proximal referencing system for use with the Charnley low friction arthrosplasty (LFA), which optimises this factor. The dislocation rate, using this method, is 0.3% (in 333 cases performed by a single surgeon over a 5 year period). This system should prove valuable to orthopaedic surgeons in training, ensuring they achieve correct soft tissue balance in total hip arthroplasty. (Hip International 2002; 12: 303-7).