Between January 1979 and December 1987, 99 patients (pts.) with a diagnosis of localized soft tissue sarcoma of the extremities received preoperative radiation therapy (Preop. RT, 50 pts.) or postoperative irradiation (Postop. RT, 49 pts.). In the preop. RT group, doses ranged from 42 Gy/17 fractions to 51 Gy/17 fractions; pts. treated with RT after surgery, received a dose comprised between 46 Gy/23 fractions to 66 Gy/33 fractions. The surgical procedure consisted of making a wide resection of the mass with preservation of the affected limb, in each patient. The main cause of failure was dissemination of the disease (33.3%). The incidence of local failures was low (7.1%). Recurrences were related to the size of the disease (5 cm: 0/12; 5-10 cm: 2/45 2.3%; 10 cm: 5/42, 11.9%), as were also distant metastases. The incidence of distant failures was higher in the group treated with preop. RT (44.0% vs. 22.4%), probably because a higher percentage of patients in this group had large volume diseases. Late sequelae were evaluable in 59 pts. with a follow up longer than 24 months. The incidence of complications was low (10.1%, 6/59); it was higher in the preoperative than in the postoperative group (15.4% vs. 6.1%); this observation is probably related to the different modalities of fractionation.