Intravenous pyelography performed in 500 patients as part of the evaluation for benign prostatic hypertrophy revealed an incidence of upper tract abnormalities in 25.2% of cases. Amongst the 179 patients with haematuria and/or pyuria, the incidence of abnormalities rose to 31.2%. The incidence of significant abnormalities such as calculi, polycystic kidneys and renal neoplasm was 3%, comparable to the general population. In the light of these findings and in view of the cost of the investigation, we believe that intravenous pyelography should only be performed in selected cases.