Objective: To determine trends in asthma mortality by age group in England and Wales during 1983-95. Design: Observational study. Setting: England and Wales. Subjects: All deaths classified as having an underlying cause of asthma registered from 1 January 1983 to 31 December 1995. Main outcome measure: Time trends for age specific asthma deaths. Results: Deaths in the age group 5-14 years showed an irregular downward trend during 1983-95; deaths in the age groups 15-44, 45-64, and 65-74 years peaked before 1989 and then showed a downward trend; and deaths in the age group 75-84 years peaked between 1988 and 1993 and subsequently dropped. Trends were: age group 5-14 years, 6% (95% confidence interval 3% to 9%); 15-44 years, 6% (5% to 7%); 45-64 years, 5% (4% to 6%); 65-74 years, 2% (1% to 3%). Deaths in the 75-84 and 85 and over categories plateaued. Conclusions: There are downward trends in asthma mortality in Britain, which may be due to increased use of prophylactic treatment. Asthma mortality in England and Wales is dropping by about 6% a year in people aged 5-64 years It is changing only slowly in those aged 65 and over