Eighty-six asphyxiated full-term neonates with CNS complications such as hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy, admitted during a 10-year period (1972-81), were studied. Sixty-three (73%) of the infants survived the neonatal period, and 55 of these, excluding one who died at 7 months, were followed for 3 to 13 years. Thirteen (24%) of these 55 children showed either major (n = 8) or minor (n = 5) abnormalities. The former had multiple significant handicaps such as cerebral palsy, epilepsy and mental retardation. The latter had mild sequelae that did not interfere with normal life. High risk factors of predictive value in infancy for the sequelae were the absence of the Moro reflex over 6 days and abnormal neurological signs on discharge (P less than 0.001, respectively). Although the neonatal mortality decreased slightly in the last four years (1978-81) compared to in the first and second three year periods (1972-74, 1975-77) (P less than 0.10), the unchanged pattern of the outcome over the 10 years might indicate the importance of more preventive and intensive care for perinatal asphyxia to reduce the incidence of handicapped children.