The race of infants who died in Washington State 1968 was ascertained by two different methods: 1) race on the death record, and 2) race on the corresponding linked birth record. The second method resulted in substantial increases in the numbers of infant deaths for the nonwhite races: Between 1968 and Indian 39 per cent (n = 114/293), Filipino 56 per cent (n = 19/34), Japanese 121 per cent (n = 23/19), and Chinese 117 per cent (n = 14/12). For Indians, the discrepancy between birth and death records was greatest when the age at death was less than seven days (p < 0.01). (Am J Public Health 1980; 70:974-976.) ington State residents were ascertained from a linked file of birth and death records. Linkages were made for 8,390 infant deaths. Matching was accomplished manually according to these criteria: name, birth date, sex, and mother's and father's names. Linkages could not be made for 728 infant deaths. The most common reason for a non-match was the death of an infant who was born outside Washington state to a resident of another state. The number (and proportion) of non-linked infant deaths, according to race at death, was: White 656 (.08), Black 24 (.05), Indian 30 (.09), Chinese 2 (.14), Japanese 1 (.05), "other nonwhite" 15 (.17), and Filipino 0 (.00). Our analysis was restricted to the linked records.Race was determined from the birth and death certificates according to standards developed by the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS).5'6 Birth attendants (or hospital personnel) complete the birth certificate, and funeral directors generally complete the death certificate. For mixtures of White and nonwhite races, the nonwhite race is assigned. For mixtures of two nonwhite races, the race of the father is assigned, except for the Hawaiian race, which always takes precedence. The birth certificate has entries for both the maternal and paternal races; thus, the NCHS criteria for the race of the child at birth can be adhered to explicitly. On the other hand, the infant's race at death is assigned according to a single entry on the death certificate, and the races of the parents are not entered onto the death certificate. Before 1978, the racial codes for vital records in Washington State differed slightly from the racial codes of the NCHS.7 Consequently, birth and death certificates that had been coded "other nonwhite" were recoded to conform to NCHS standards.Cross-tabulations of infant deaths were prepared for: 1) race at death by race at birth, and 2) race of mother by race of father. Racial discordance between the birth and death certificates was also examined according to the age of the infant at death (six days or less, seven to 28 days, and greater than 28 days), five year interval (1968-1972 and 1973-1977), and the stated cause of death. Additional cross-tabulations were prepared for those purposes. Trends in proportions were analyzed with the chi-square test for trend.