Fifty-six surgical biopsies of intracranial tumours were seen within two years in a newly established neurosurgical unit in Hong Kong. Among the 52 cases of primary intracranial tumours, glioma is the most common, followed by meningioma and pituitary tumour. This is similar to findings in Caucasians. When the distribution of glioma is analyzed, Chinese, or possibly Orientals, have a much higher incidence of ependymoma and pinealoma than do Caucasians. Similar findings are found in other Chinese series reported in the literature.