Familial bilateral abductor cord paralysis was described in the father and two sons of a family in which the ramaining siblings (obe boy and three girls) were normal. The onset of stridor ranged from six months to nine years after birth in these patients who were all treated with a tracheostomy. Normal development and intelligence was experienced by all three patients. Since previous reports of hereditary abductor cord paralysis described mental retardation in all patients who were maintained without tracheostomy, anoxia from unrelieved laryngeal obstruction may be a significant complication following nonsurgical management of patients who appear to tolerate bilateral abductor vocal cord paralysis.