The aim of this study was to investigate the activity and safety of a regimen containing carboplatin and paclitaxel in patients affected by recurrent or metastatic head and neck cancer. Eligible patients were treated with a 3-week combination of paclitaxel 175 mg/m2 and carboplatin area under the concentration time curve 5 mg/ml/min for a maximum of four cycles. A total of 27 patients entered the study. One patient (3.7%) had a complete response, whereas six patients (22.2%) obtained a partial response. Stable disease was observed in seven patients (25.9%). The disease control rate was 51.8% (95% confidence interval: 32.0-71.3), whereas overall response rate was 25.9% (95% confidence interval: 11.1-46.3). The median overall survival was 8.0 months (range: 2-27), with a 1-year survival of 30.5%. The median progression-free survival was 1.0 month (range: 0-14). Treatment-related deaths or episodes of neutropenic fever were not registered. Grades 3-4 neutropenia was observed in two patients (7.4%), grades 3-4 anaemia and thrombocytopenia in four (14.8%) and one (3.7%) patients, respectively. Nine patients (33.3%) experienced grades 1-2 and one patient (3.7%) grade 3 peripheral neuropathy. The combination of carboplatin and paclitaxel is safe and moderately effective for the treatment of recurrent or metastatic head and neck cancer.