Neck metastasis is one of the major problems in head and neck cancers and it affects the method of treatment and the prognosis. The authors studied the incidence of neck metastasis in 90 patients who were confirmed with head and neck cancers by histopathology from January 1987 to March 1992 at the Department of Otolaryngology, Chunan Hospital, College of Medicine, Soonchunhyang University. The results were as follows : 1) In age distribution, the sixth decade had a predilection(36.7%) for head and neck cancers and the frequency of neck metastasis was common in the fifth and sixth decades(p>0.05). The ratio of male to female was 3.5 : 1 in head and neck cancer and about 2.1 : 1 in neck metastasis. 2) The most common duration of symptom was 6 months(74.5%) and the frequency of neck metastasis was high by duration. 3) In histopathology, the squamous cell carcinoma was the most common with 73 cases(81.1%) of which 28 cases(38.4%) had neck metastasis. 4) The primary sites of the head and neck cancer except malignant lymphoma were larynx(31.0%) and pharynx(29.8%) in order. Neck metastasis was in 33 case(39.3%), which were primarily originated from the oral cavity, pharynx and larynx. 5) The higher T classification was, the more neck metastasis occurred. Among 69 cases except the malignant tumors of ear, nose and paranasal sinuses and the malignant lymphoma, 33 cases(47.8%) showed neck metastasis. 6) Neck metastasis was the most common in pharynx with 13 cases. N classification was common in N1, 15 cases(45.5%)(N₁, 90.0% in oral cavity, N_2b, 38.5% in pharynx, N₁, 40.0% in larynx).