The 5-year survival rate for 422 patients having chronic atherosclerotic occlusive disease of the femoral artery was 54 per cent for the diabetic patients and 75 per cent for the nondiabetic. Ischemic ulceration without gangrene occurred in 12 per cent of the diabetic and in 5 per cent of the nondiabetic group; gangrene had developed in 40 per cent of the diabetic and in 9 per cent of the nondiabetic. Intermittent claudication was the predominant symptom on initial examination. Amputation was required in 27 per cent of the diabetic but in only 7 per cent of the nondiabetic patients.