A total of 159 cases of early congenital syphilis were reported in the USA during 1982, with Texas reporting 50 cases. These Texas cases were reviewed to identify the most important characteristics on which to focus control efforts. Mothers (38) were .ltoreq. 25 yr old; 33 were unmarried. All were from minority groups. No congenital syphilis occurred in whites. Blacks were twice as likely as Hispanics to have an infected infant. Foreign-born Hispanic women were 3 times more likely to be delivered of an infected child than Hispanics born in the USA. Attendance at prenatal care facilities significantly affected the risk of being delivered of an infected child in both black and Hispanic women; 31 women received no prenatal care. Based on these findings, congenital syphilis in Texas can be reduced primarily through improving prenatal care for high-risk populations and by refining case-finding efforts to control infectious syphilis in the community.