Substitutes for aspirin devoid of troublesome effects are needed. A potential candidate, ibuprofen, heretofore marketed outside the United States as an antiarthritic, was compared in single oral doses of 300 and 900 mg with aspirin, 900 mg, and placebo in a parallel balanced randomized double-blind design in 80 patients with pain due to episiotomy. Over the 6 hours of evaluation, there was pain reduction greater than 50 per cent in 17 of 20 patients treated with either dose of ibuprofen (p < 0.01), in 18 of 20 patients treated with aspirin (p < 0.001), and in only 6 of 20 patients treated with placebo. With the two doses of ibuprofen, pain relief, as measured by pain intensity differences (PID) was similar to that with aspirin with respect to time of onset, degree and duration of analgesia. Reported side effects with ibuprofen were insignificant.