A study was undertaken to identify factors of prognostic importance for 199 Chinese children with tuberculous meningitis treated in Hong Kong between 1961 and 1984 inclusive. During the period under study rifampicin and then pyrazinamide were introduced into treatment regimens and intrathecal therapy was abandoned. An analysis of pretreatment characteristics and details of chemotherapy by multivariate logistic regression identified two independent variables that predicted prognosis, namely clinical stage at the time of diagnosis, and age. Changes in treatment policies and the introduction of new anti-tuberculosis drugs did not appear to influence prognosis.