THE RELATIVELY high or low incidence in certain races of diseases not obviously hereditary has been observed for many years. The basis for such selectivity has usually been unexplained. This report presents a statistical study which indicates that a traumatic lesion, fracture of the hip, also exhibits remarkable racial selectivity. This study of the relative incidence of fracture of the hip in white and Negro patients was prompted by the observation of Mr. Leo Shapiro, an x-ray technician of long experience, who noted that fracture of the hip was infrequently seen in the Negro. To determine the accuracy of this observation 3 statistical analyses of patients with fracture of the hip treated at the Kings County Hospital Center were carried out (table). In a preliminary survey a series of patients was selected at random from among patients admitted with fracture of the hip during 1959. Of 72 such individuals only