To compare the operating characteristics of the venous echo-doppler and that of venous phlebography in our setting, 90 consecutive patients admitted on suspicion of deep vein thrombosis of one leg underwent both examinations. Phlebography confirmed the diagnosis in 46 patients (51%). The sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative predictive values of the echo-doppler were 91, 92, 94 and 90% respectively. For the subgroup of patients with proximal deep vein thrombosis, these values were 97, 97, 97 and 97%, respectively; for the subgroup with distal deep vein thrombosis, these values were 60, 95, 75 and 90%, respectively. This study confirms the excellent performance of the venous echo-doppler for the diagnosis of deep vein thrombosis of the leg in our hospital. However, in the subgroup of patients with distal deep vein thrombosis, only the sensitivity of the venous echo-doppler is relatively low and the diagnosis may still require color echo-doppler or phlebography.