We evaluated the signs and symptoms suggestive of osteoarthritis (OA) of the knee in 682 elderly people. The results suggest that both the frequency of signs and symptoms and the degree of severity remain constant in the 7th, 8th and 9th decades. Differences between men and women and between blacks and whites were also noted--women and blacks tending to have more frequent and more severe evidence of OA of the knee. These data suggest that OA of the knee is a specific disease that affects only a portion of the population and is not inevitably progressive.