There is sometimes uncertainty concerning the correct socket position prior to total hip arthroplasty (THA). We conducted a study to determine the hip centre in Japanese women in order to define the true anatomical position of the acetabulum. The study involved 200 consecutive female patients in whom the contralateral hip joint was normal or was prearthritic and who underwent unilateral THA. The 'normal' group comprised 100 hip joints with no acetabular hip dysplasia, and the prearthritis group comprised 100 hip joints with Crowe type I dysplasia. The length of a perpendicular line drawn under the teardrop (interteardrop line) connecting both inferior edges of the teardrop with the centre of the femoral head was recorded as the vertical distance, and the distance from the intersection of the perpendicular line and interteardrop line up to the teardrop was recorded as the horizontal distance. We measured these distances on the femoral head of the side that did not undergo THA. The mean vertical distances in the 'normal' and prearthritis groups were 14.6 ± 2.8 mm and 16.8 ± 2.7 mm, respectively, and the mean horizontal distances were 30.2 ± 2.8 mm and 32.5 ± 2.7 mm, respectively. We therefore determined the mean centre of the hips to lie at a vertical distance of 11 to 22 mm and a horizontal distance of 27 to 38 mm. These values can serve as a useful index for socket positioning in THA.