SummaryForty‐eight per cent. of 185 cases of nasopharyngeal carcinoma seen over an eight‐year period exhibited evidence of cranial nerve damage. The abducens nerve and trigeminal nerve were the most frequently involved. The lesions fell into two main groups: (a) where one or more of the second, third, fourth, fifth and sixth nerves were involved, and (b)where there was a lesion of one or more of the last four cranial nerves and of the cervical sympathetic chain.The early onset of cranial nerve lesions and the consequent need for speedy diagnosis is emphasized.