We report a case of a de novo acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) with t(9;11) (p21;q23) and a novel translocation t(2;8) (p15;q24). The former is characteristic of acute nonlymphoblastic leukaemia (ANLL) and has rarely been detected in ALL. The blasts showed L2 morphology by the French American British (FAB) classification and pre B ALL immunophenotype.