Cytotoxic substances in dental calculus and root cementum of periodontally diseased teeth inhibit new attachment and regeneration. The purpose of scaling and root planing is to remove pathologic structures harboring these cytotoxic substances in order to create a biologically acceptable root surface. However, these procedures inevitably leave a non-biocompatible smear layer. Conventionally, the smear layer has been removed with low pH etching agents such as citric acid, phosphoric acid and tetracycline hydrochloride(TC). Lately, a supersaturated neutral pH etching solution of ethylene diamine tetraacetic acid(EDTA) has been found to be as effective as low pH etchants with respect to smear removal and to be superior in exposing root surfaceassociated collagen. The aim of the present study was to determine the effect of root surface treatment using EDTA on the initial attachment of human gingival fibroblasts. 27 human teeth, extracted due to severe periodontitis, were cut into dentin slices after root planing. The specimens were divided into TC group(treated with $50㎎/m{ell}$ tetracycline-HCl, pH 1.52), EDTA group(treated with 17% EDTA, pH 7.4), and non-treated control group. After sterilization, 5th subcultured human gingival fibroblasts were seeded in each culture well containing a prepared root slice and incubated for 15 min., 60 min., and 4 hours in 5% $CO_2$ incubator at $37^{circ}C$. At each incubation time, the number of attached fibroblasts were counted on the microphotographs taken at a magnification of x100. The difference of the number of attached cells between groups was statistically analyzed by the ANOVA followed by Duncan test in SPSS/PC＋programs. The results were as follows : 1. After incubation for 15 min, the attached cells were significantly more in EDTA group and TC group than non-treated control group(p<0.05), but there was no significance in the difference between EDTA group and TC group(p>0.1). 2. After incubation for 60 min and 4 hours, there was no significant difference in the number of attached cells between all groups(p>0.1). 3. In both EDTA group and TC group, there was no significant difference in the number of attached cells between different incubation(p>0.1). But in control group, the number of attached cells was significantly increased after incubation for 60 min, compared with incubation for 15 min(p<0.05). The above results suggest that root surface treatment using EDTA could enhance the initial attachment of gingival fibroblasts to root surface as effective as tetracycline-HCl.