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An epidemiological study of malignant melanoma in Puerto Rico was done by reviewing the Puerto Rico Cancer Registry for all melanoma cases reported between the years 1981 to 1987. A total of 367 new cases were documented with the annual incidence ranging from 1.20 to 2.12 per 100,000 inhabitants with a mean of 1.59. Most of the patients were between 40 and 80 years of age with a peak in the sixties. Nearly one half of the tumors were located on the extremities, most notably on the feet, sharing this predilection with Blacks and Japanese. The most frequently recognized clinico-histologic type was the superficial spreading melanoma followed by the acral lentiginous, the nodular and the lentigo maligna melanoma. Nearly one third of the total cases were not classified according to the histologic type, while Clark's levels and Breslow's thickness were not reported in 44 and 84% of the cases, respectively. When compared to a previous study during 1977 to 1980, the average annual incidence of new cases increased from 0.92 to 1.59 per 100,000 documenting an increased incidence of the condition in our population, but not as significant as that registered in the United States.