The objective of the present investigation was to characterize the cellular composition of the soft tissues surrounding consecutively retrieved late failures of Brånemark implants. Criteria for implant failure were signs of loss of osseointegration (radiographic peri-fixtural radiolucency and mobility). The clinical history of the implants did not include adverse symptoms. At the time of retrieval, percussion-induced pain was experienced at 4/8 implants, but no macroscopical signs of inflammation or infection or infection was observed. Immunohistochemistry was applied on 6 marginal peri-implant specimens and on specimens of deeper tissues associated with the previously load-bearing implant surface from 8 failed implants, whereas 6 clinically healthy mucosal specimens and 4 hyperplastic biopsies from stable implants served as controls. The immunohistochemical evaluation showed that the soft tissues surrounding failed implants contained a large number of macrophages (CD68), HLA-DR positive cells, lymphocytes and plasma cells preferentially accumulated towards the removed implant surface. PMNs were a rare finding. Downgrowth of epithelium, in some cases encapsulating the whole fixture, was observed in sections where an intact implant/soft tissue interface was preserved. Healthy control mucosal specimens always contained labelled cells, albeit in a low amount, whereas hyperplastic control samples displayed an intense inflammatory and immunological response with numerous positive cells and PMNs scattered throughout the biopsy. In conclusion, failed implants were characterized by a chronic inflammatory response of the surrounding tissues with macrophages as the predominant labelled cell type, while hyperplastic tissues around stable implants were distinguished by an acute inflammatory process. These findings suggest that an on-going infection is unlikely to be the etiological factor for the late failures of dental implants examined in this study.