PURPOSE: To evaluate the relibility of transrectal ultrasonography (TRUS) to define adult female genital organ and to diagnose and stage the cervical carcinomas. METHODS AND MATERIALS: After analysis of normal ultrasonographic anatomy of female pelvis in ten healthy women, I performed TRUS in thirty patients of uterine cervical carcinomas by rotating the 5 MHz electronic linear array transducer(SL2, Siemens, Erlangen, Germany) along the reference sagittal plane in the middle of uterine cervix & vagina. The results of TRUS were analyzed and compared to FIGO, surgical pathology, CT and MRT, ect. RESULTS: TRUS allowed good visualization of the uterus, uterine cervix, parametrium, vagina, anterior rectal wall, walls of the urinary bladder, and uterine cervical carcinomas. The accuracy of staging with TRUS was 83%, compared with the accuracy of 67% for clinical staging according to the criteria of the International Federation of Gynecotogy and Obstetrics(FIGO). For extent of parametrial involvement, the sensitivity of TRUS was 93%, with the specificity of 86% and the diagnostic accuracy of 89%. The same reliability parameters for clinical evaluation were 71%, 79%, and 75% respectively. CONCLUSION: Above findings suggest that low-cost TRUS could be usefully applied to pretreatment evaluation of patients with uterine cervical carcinoma.