Although many patients with epilepsy achieve control of their seizures with medication, a substantial number ultimately develop intractable epilepsy. Patients with intractable epilepsy form the group for whom surgical procedures may be beneficial. We retrospectively analyzed the clinical profile and outcome of 141 patients operated for intractable epilepsy at Vellore between 1949 and 1990. The operative procedures done for suprasylvian epilepsy were topectomy (24 cases) and lobectomy (2 cases). For temporal lobe epilepsy the surgical procedures done were topectomy (28 cases), temporal lobectomy with amygdalectomy (25 cases), temporal lobectomy with amygdalectomy and hippocampectomy (10 cases), amygdalectomy (15 cases) and topectomy with amygdalectomy in one case. Hemispherectomy was done for 12 cases with multilobe epilepsy. For multifocal epilepsy, four patients underwent stereotactic ansotomy. Post operative complications included infections (10 cases) and acute post operative haematoma in one patient. There was transient neurological deterioration in ten patients. Three patients operated prior to 1960 died due to peri operative complications. Follow up data of 80 patients, ranging from 1 to 42 years (mean 10 years) was analysed. Total or near total seizure control was obtained in 53% patients and a worthwhile outcome in 20% patients. Mental retardation, pre operative scalp electroencephalography and post excision electrocorticography has been shown to be predictors of outcome with respect to seizures.