By univariate analysis of patients with membranous nephropathy, terminal renal failure was associated with male sex, a large amount of proteinuria, low serum albumin concentration, low creatinine clearance rate, high serum creatinine concentration, and high systolic blood pressure, but was not associated with age or prednisone treatment. In a multivariate life table analysis that controlled for all these factors simultaneously, the risk of developing terminal renal failure was significantly independently associated only with sex, serum albumin concentration, and prednisone treatment, being higher in men, lower in those treated with prednisone, and inversely related to serum albumin. Except for the minimal electron-dense deposition, the electron microscopic findings had no predictive value.