Iliac crest bone grafts are sometimes preferred to other bone grafts for the treatment of non-unions of fractures of the scaphoid as they are claimed to have better osteogenic potential and biomechanical properties. We retrospectively studied a consecutive cohort of 68 symptomatic established scaphoid non-unions treated by bone grafting. An iliac crest graft was used in 44 cases and a distal radius graft in the other 24. The two treatment groups were comparable in terms of location of the fracture, duration of the non-union and the fixation implants used. Overall union was achieved in 45 of the 68 patients (66%) and the union rate was not influenced by the type of bone graft used. Twenty-nine of the 44 treated with iliac crest bone graft (66%) and 16 of the 24 (67%) treated with distal radial graft united. Donor site pain over the iliac crest was present in nine of the 44 patients in this group.