Eighteen cases of gangrenous cholecystitis were reviewed to better define causes of morbidity and mortality. All patients in the series presented with signs and symptoms of acute cholecystitis. Cholecystectomy was done as an emergency procedure in 12 patients, while in six patients cholecystectomy followed a failure of nonoperative therapy. Gangrenous cholecystitis in this series was commonly associated with empyema and perforation of the gallbladder. Three of six patients having cholecystectomy after failure of nonoperative treatment died, while only one of 12 patients with immediate cholecystectomy died. This series illustrates that gangrenous cholecystitis usually presents with a clinical picture identical to that of acute cholecystitis. Early operation in the natural history of acute cholecystitis should reduce the frequency as well as the morbidity and mortality of gangrenous cholecystitis.