The aim of this study was to evaluate the outcome in the treatment of T2 laryngeal carcinoma with impaired laryngeal mobility, comparing surgical management to radiotherapy in terms of local control and survival. The files of 66 patients treated between 1988 and 1994 were retrospectively studied for tumor location, treatment and outcome. Forty-two patients were treated surgically and 24 by radiotherapy. Follow-up averaged 8.5 years. Local recurrence occurred in 12.5% of the cases treated by conservation laryngeal surgery and in 21% of the cases by radiotherapy. Ultimate laryngeal preservation was achieved in 90.9% of the cases initially treated by partial laryngectomy and in 87.5% of the cases treated by radiotherapy. Five-year actuarial survival rates were 90% and 28%, respectively. A higher rate of metastases and second primaries occurred in the group treated by radiotherapy. T2 laryngeal carcinoma amenable to partial laryngectomy had a higher local control rate than the cases not amenable to conservation surgery and treated by radiotherapy. Tumors differed in the two treatment groups in location and extensions, despite the fact that all were T2 tumors. We emphasize the limits of retrospective studies. Only prospective randomized studies will determine the true results of surgery versus radiotherapy for a homogeneous subset of T2 laryngeal tumors.