We investigated whether a family history of lethal prostate cancer (PCa) was associated with high-risk disease or biochemical recurrence in patients undergoing radical prostatectomy. A cohort of radical prostatectomy patients was stratified into men with no family history of PCa (NFH); a first-degree relative with PCa (FH); and those with a first-degree relative who had died of PCa (FHD). Demographic, operative and pathologic outcomes were analyzed. Freedom from biochemical recurrence was examined using Kaplan-Meier log rank. A multivariate Cox logistic regression analysis was also performed. We analyzed 471 men who underwent radical prostatectomy at our institution with known family history. The three groups had: 355 patients (75%) in NFH; 97 patients (21%) in FH; and 19 patients (4%) in FHD. The prevalence of a Gleason score ≥8, higher pathologic T stage, and biochemical recurrence (BCR) rates did not significantly differ between groups. On Kaplan-Meier analysis there were no differences in short-term BCR rates (p = 0.212). In this cohort of patients undergoing radical prostatectomy, those with first-degree relatives who died of PCa did not have an increased likelihood of high-risk or aggressive PCa or shorter-term risk of BCR than those who did not.