Twenty-three patients with traumatic diaphragmatic injuries treated at the Department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, Keimyung University Dongsan Medical Center from Aug. 1978 to Nov. 1990 were reviewed. There were 19 male and 4 female patients. The age distribution was ranged from 1.5 to 72 years, with a mean age of 34.3 years. Sixteen patients had blunt trauma[traffic accident 14, fall down 2], and 7 had penetrating injuries[stab wound 6, broken glass 1]. Sixteen [70 percent]of the injuries occurred on the left side and 7[30 percent] on the right side. Fifteen patients were operated on during the acute phase, 5 patients during the latent phase, 2 patients during the obstructive phase. The surgical approach in 20 patients was through a thoracotomy; in 2 patients, a thoracoabdominal incision was necessary, and in 1 patient, a laparotomy was performed. Herniated organs in thorax included stomach[10], colon[5], small bowel[5], spleen[4], liver[2]. Postoperative complications included wound infection, empyema, pneumonia, hepatitis and respiratory failure. There were 3 postoperative deaths, 2 with cerebral dysfunction and 1 with sepsis.