A total of 18 young deaf adults read a 181‐word passage, and distributional characteristics of fundamental frequency (f0) were investigated using a period‐by‐periodf0analysis program. The results of analysis showed significantly higherf0means and smaller standard deviations and mid‐90% range than those for normal‐hearing subject. Deaf speech was characterized, furthermore, by significantly less skewness of fundamental frequency distribution. In addition, bimodality or multimodality off0distributions commonly observed in speech of normal‐hearing subjects were also less clear in the deaf speech samples. The results indicate limited, monotonous pitch variability and almost constantly strained type of phonation in deaf speech. [This research was supported in part by Air Force Cambridge Research Laboratories, OAR, and by National Institute of Dental Research.]