A prospective study of patients with upper gastrointestinal bleeding admitted to a haematemesis and melaena unit has revealed an incidence of Mallory‐Weiss tears of 8% (59 of 762 patients undergoing endoscopy). Prior vomiting was present in 60% and an associated upper gastrointestinal lesion in 44 percent. The majority of patients had a recent ingestion of alcohol and/or analgesics, whilst 34% had chronic heavy alcohol intake. Approximately 50% of patients required no blood transfusion, whilst 37% had over three units of blood. No patient in the group required surgical intervention, and one patient died because of general debility. This study suggests that the Mallory‐Weiss tear accounts for a significant proportion of patients admitted with upper gastrointestinal bleeding, but that the mortality and morbidity are