Records of 36,775 autopsies performed between 1870 and 1979 in the Department of Morphopathology, Cluj-Napoca, were re-studied. 10.82 per cent of deaths were due to cancer, whose incidence increased during the last 50 years. Cancer is more often seen in males and its highest incidence was noted between 50 and 70 years of age. Gastric and lung cancers are more frequent in males, while uterine, intestine, stomach and ovarian cancers are the most frequent localizations in females.