Fluorescent staining techniques were used in combination with confocal and conventional fluorescent microscopy to determine the location of viable chondrocytes in frozen and thawed osteochondral articular cartilage. The results showed that cell survival was confined to the superficial layer of the cartilage matrix. The addition of a cryopreservative agent (dimethyl sulfoxide) increased chondrocytes survival but only in the same layer. There was no evidence of cell survival in the middle or deep layers of the cartilage with or without the use of dimethyl sulfoxide. Under the conditions employed in this study, chondrocyte survival in a cryopreserved osteochondral allograft appears t be limited to the superficial layer of the articular cartilage.