Medical records were reviewed for 17 consecutive patients hospitalized with a diagnosis of squamous cell carcinoma of the bladder. This number represented 6.5 per cent of all patients with bladder cancer seen during the study period. All 4 patients who underwent cystectomy and urinary diversion are well 3 1/2 to 6 1/2 years after treatment. All 13 patients treated with various other modalities are dead, with an average survival from diagnosis to death of 9 months. It is concluded that cystectomy is the treatment of choice for patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the bladder that is not already stage D.