SummaryThe presence of human papillomavirus (HPV) types 11, 16 and 18 in 77 biopsies of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (dysplasia) and carcinoma of the uterine cervix of a sample of women from Western Australia was examined using “Southern” blot hybridisation. HPV‐DNA was found in 17 of the 23 dysplasias and 43 of the 54 invasive carcinomas examined but not in the 5 biopsies obtained from areas assessed as normal by colposcopy and histology.Five of 11 biopsies of mild to moderate dysplasias contained HPV type 11 (HPV‐11), 2 HPV‐16 and 1 HPV‐18. Of 12 severe dysplasias/carcinomain situ, 2 contained HPV‐11, 4 HPV‐16 and 2 HPV‐18. One biopsy contained both HPV‐11 and HPV‐16.Of 45 squamous cell carcinomas examined for HPV‐DNA, 24 contained HPV‐16, 5 HPV‐11 and 1 HPV‐18. Both HPV‐11 and HPV‐16 were found in 6 of the squamous cell carcinomas and 2 contained both HPV‐16 and HPV‐18. Of 6 adenosquamous carcinomas examined, 3 contained HPV‐DNA, 2 with HPV‐16 and I with HPV‐11. HPV types 16 or 18 were also found in 2 of 3 adenocarcinomas.This study shows a strong association between the papillomavirus and uterine cervical cancer in a sample of women from Western Australia. HPV‐16 was more frequently associated with severe dysplasia and cancer than with mild or moderate dysplasia supporting the view that this HPV genotype may have a greater oncogenic potential than HPV‐11.