Hysteria occupies a position at the top of the list of psychiatric diagnoses. There has been much controversy as to the relevance of its nosological status. The current study is a replication of a previous one undertaken at an Egyptian University Hospital in 1967; it covers 1000 outpatients at the same clinical setting in 1990. The study aims at testing the relevance of the diagnosis of 'hysteria' (conversion and dissociative disorders) and uses DSM-III R criteria for diagnosis. Our results support the existence of such a disorder and the paper discusses the changes in incidence and symptomatology and the application of different diagnostic systems, and emphasizes the fact that we still need the diagnosis 'hysteria' at least in developing countries.