It is unclear if open surgical dislocation or arthroscopy of the hip is superior for the treatment of femoroacetabular impingement (FAI). We prospectively compared the clinical results of these 2 surgical methods performed by a single surgeon. Five patients met the inclusion criteria for the open surgical dislocation group and 18 for the arthroscopic group. Patient-reported scores, including the modified Harris Hip Score (mHHS), Non-Arthritic Hip Score (NAHS), Hip Outcome Score-Sport-Specific Subscale (HOS-SSS) and Hip Outcome Score-Activities of Daily Living (HOS-ADL) were used preoperatively, and at 3 months, 6 months, and 1 year postoperatively to compare the 2 groups. Average follow-up was 14.7 months (range, 12 to 25 months); both groups showed significant improvement in their postoperative scores compared with preoperative scores (P < .01). The arthroscopic group had better, earlier improvement at 3- and 6-month follow-up, with NAHS significantly better at 3 months (P < .0002). However, improvements were comparable between the 2 groups at 1 year. Open surgical dislocation and arthroscopy are viable options for the treatment of FAI. The arthroscopic group demonstrated a trend toward faster recovery and quicker return to sports, but larger and longer-term studies are needed.