Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome-related Kaposi's sarcoma has become an important disease entity, both in the field of human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome as well as neoplastic disorders. In the 10-year period from February 1984 to December 1994, 17 (13%) of the 130 acquired immunodeficiency syndrome patients who reported to the Department of Health, Hong Kong, had Kaposi's sarcoma as primary (11) or subsequent (6) acquired immunodeficiency syndrome-defining illnesses. All of these patients had acquired the virus through sexual transmission, with 88% via homo- orbi-sexual contacts. Nine patients were Chinese, and seven were diagnosed in or after 1992. Solitary or multifocal cutaneous lesions were the commonest presentations. Only one patient had visceral involvement. The median CD4+ T-lymphocyte count at diagnosis was 91 cells/microL (normal range, >290 cells/microL). Eleven patients had died, but no deaths were directly related to the Kaposi's sarcoma. The mean survival after diagnosis of Kaposi's sarcoma was 14.4 months.