Fractures of the patella are predominantly intra-articular fractures of a sesamoid bone. The options of treatment vary from closed treatment to total patellectomy, in the middle of the spectrum are osteosynthesis and partial patellectomy. In this series, we experienced 59 cases of patellar fractures from October 1974 to October 1983 at the Department of the Orthopedic Surgery, College of Medicine, Kyungpook National University. The results were as follows:1. Most fractures were encountered in man from twenties to forties. 2. The most common cause of fractures was traffic accident(34 cases, 59.7%), followed by slip down or falling down(15 cases, 26.3% ). 3. The most frequent configuration of fractures was the comminuted. 4. 36 cases were treated with osteosynthesis (32 cases), partial excision (1 case) or total excision (3 cases). Of the 32 cases treated with osteosynthesis, most were treated by modified tension band wiring (16 cases). And as compared with other fixation techniques, the best results were obtained by this method. 5. Modified tension band wire fixation has given accepatable results even in severely comminuted, displaced patellar fractures. Excision was sometimes unavoidable.