A retrospective study has been performed for 153 cases of foreign bodies in the food and air passages, which were obtained from June 1968 to December 1987 at Chung-Ang University Hospital. The results were as follows : 1) The incidence of foreign bodies in order of frequency was coin, meat, and bone in the food passage. Peanut and bean were the most frequent foreign bodies in the air passage. 2) By age distribution, 97 cases(63.4%) were under the age of 5. 3) There were 91 males(59.5%) and 62 females(40.5%). The sex ratio was 1.47 : 1. 4) Among 153 cases, 140 cases(91.5%) were lodged in the food passage and 13 cases(8.5%) in the air passage. The ratio was 10.8 : 1. 5) In the food passage, 116 cases(82.9%) were in the first narrowing. Twenty-two cases(15.7%) in the second narrowing, and 2 cases(1.4%) in the third narrowing. In the air passage, the most common site was main bronchus(10 cases-76.9%). 6) The duration of lodgement showed differences in relation with varieties of the foreign bodies. Ninety cases(64.3%) of foreign bodies in the food passage and 7 cases(53.8%) of foreign bodies in the air passage were removed out within 24 hours.