The effects of temazepam 20 rug, oxazepam 30 mg and placebo were compared when given as preoperative medication to patients undergoing day-case surgery. Temazepam caused a significant decrease in anxiety and produced sedation by 60 min, whereas those patients receiving oxazepam showed only minimal changes. Awakening time was prolonged with oxazepam but not with temazepam. Two hours after surgery, no mgnifimnt sedation was recorded with either drug, and simple psychomotor testing showed unimpaired performance. Patient acceptability was high with both oxazepam and temazepam.