BACKGROUND/AIMS. Localized orbital non-Hodgkin's lymphoma is a rare form of extranodal lymphoma. The aim of this study was to evaluate the outcome of 48 patients presenting with stage I-E non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL). METHODS. Out of 118 charts of patients with lymphoproliferative lesions, those of 48 patients with stage I-E orbital lymphoma seen over a 22-year period from 1977 through 1999 were reviewed. RESULTS. Twenty-five patients were male and 23 were female. Their mean age was 58.7 (12-85) years. The mass was localized inside the orbit in 37 cases and in the lacrimal gland region in 11 cases; bilateral involvement was observed in two cases. The duration of the symptoms at the time of presentation ranged from 10 days to 10 years with a mean duration of 18 months. The 24 cases with low-grade lymphoma are all alive without disease, whatever therapeutic approach was performed (biopsy, radiotherapy, chemotherapy). In intermediate and high-grade NHL the rate of recurrence after chemotherapy has been 50% and 33%, respectively, compared to 75% and 50% after biopsy alone and 75% after radiotherapy (not administered in high-grade forms). CONCLUSION. The therapeutic approach to localized orbital non-Hodgkin's lymphoma must take the histologic grading into consideration. The 24 cases with low-grade lymphoma had a good prognosis. The 17 cases with the intermediate-grade form and the 7 cases with the high-grade form had a better prognosis when treated with chemotherapy.