We studied posthemiplegic hemidystonia in an adult, and generalized dystonia in two children. CT and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) studies in the adult revealed infarction of the contralateral putamen and, to a much lesser extent, the head of the caudate nucleus. Both children had subacute encephalopathies (possible Leigh's disease), and CT revealed bilateral putamen lesions when generalized dystonia was the predominant clinical disorder. These cases and other reports of symptomatic dystonia suggest that lesions of the putamen correlate with dystonia.