The objective of this clinical trial was to determine if radiation to areas of recurrence or bulky disease prior to total body irradiation (TBI) and chemotherapy followed by autologous bone marrow transplantation (ABMT) altered the site of relapse and/or prolonged survival. Forty-eight patients with recurrent or refractory malignant lymphoma were treated with high-dose cyclophosphamide and fractionated TBI followed by ABMT. Thirty-four patients were eligible to receive involved field radiation therapy (IF-RT) to sites of recurrence or bulky disease. The overall response rate in 46 evaluable patients was 89% with 33 complete remissions (CR) and 8 partial remissions (PR). In a multivariant analysis increasing LDH, decreased serum albumin, older age, and lack of sensitivity to prior chemotherapy were associated with poorer survival. There were 10 deaths due to treatment related complications, 8 died of pulmonary complications of whom 6 were in CR. Of 11 who had received IF-RT and subsequently relapsed, 4 recurred in or adjacent to the involved field. We conclude that intensive chemo-radiotherapy proved to be an effective salvage therapy for patients with recurrent malignant lymphoma, resulting in a projected actuarial 33% DFS at 5 years, but was associated with a high transplant-related mortality.