To document the most common histologic pattern of carcinoma of lung among patients presenting to a local hospital with clinical findings suspicious of lung cancer. ' Design: This is a prospective clinicopathologic study comprising consecutive case series attending a local hospital. The study lasted from January, 1998 to December, 1999. Setting: Department of pulmonology and medicine, Fauji Foundation Hospital, Rawalpindi, Pakistan. Subject: Eighty consecutive patients undergoing diagnostic work up for a probable diagnosis of carcinoma of lung. Main outcome measures: New cases of carcinoma of lung, prevalence of various histologic cell types, number of smokers with carcinoma of lung, sex ratio. Results: A total of eighty patients presented with signs and symptoms suggestive of carcinoma of lung. Thirty-nine were found to harbour bronchogenic carcinoma. Thirty-five were males. Only four patients with lung carcinoma were females. The predominant histologic cell type was squamous cell carcinoma, 41 % in all. This was followed by small cell carcinoma (30%). The majority of patients were in their late fifties at the time of presentation. The mean age was 60.6 years. Conclusion: Squamous cell carcinoma is still one of the most common types of lung cancer encountered in our local Pakistani population. Most of the patients with this histologic category were males, and current heavy smokers. Women were an uncommon victim of this ailment in the current cohort of patients.