We report eight cases of ovarian epidermoid cyst in women 25-57 years of age. All of the cysts had a smooth inner lining composed of stratified squamous epithelium with no evidence of hair or a Rokitansky tubercle. Since these lesions accounted for 0.07% of gynecological specimens in our hospital over a 3-year period, epidermoid cysts of the ovary are not as rare as the literature suggests; some are probably misdiagnosed as dermoid cysts. We believe that ovarian epidermoid cysts represent monodermal and highly differentiated teratomas and should be classified as such.