A differentiated therapy of chronic pancreatitis and pancreatic carcinoma calls for evaluation of the validity of findings. Excisional biopsies, punch biopsies, and fine-needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) are the options available for intrasurgical confirmation. In 606 prospective cases intrasurgical fine-needle aspiration biopsy and cytological assessment were carried out. There were 330 cases of pancreatic carcinoma and 276 cases of benign diseases of pancreas included. The level of sensitivity is 92.4 %, specificity is 99.3 %, predictive value of positive results is 99.3 % and of negative results is 91.6 %. FNAC is a suitable method for confirmation of pancreatic carcinoma.