Intellectual and cognitive function was studied in 43 patients (21 men and 22 women) with myotonic muscular dystrophy (MMD). The inheritance distribution was 18 paternal, 10 maternal, and 15 unknown. All patients received the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Revised, the Wechsler Memory Scale, the Halstead-Reitan Neuropsychological Test Battery, and the Aphasia Screening Test. Significantly lower scores (p less than 0.05) were found on all intellectual and cognitive impairment tests in both men and women of the maternal inheritance MMD subgroup, compared with the paternal inheritance MMD subgroup and with the normative data. Scores for patients with paternally inherited disease did not differ significantly from normative data for verbal, performance, or full scale intelligence quotients and memory quotients. There were no significant differences in intellectual and cognitive test scores between men and women for the group as a whole, for the maternal inheritance subgroup, or for the paternal inheritance subgroup. It is suggested that inheritance pattern is a necessary variable in studies investigating intellectual and cognitive function in MMD. Although the reason for the association of lower intellectual and cognitive function in MMD of maternal inheritance is not known, the data presented here may be useful for genetic counseling.