Central papillary atrophy of the tongue (CPA) was significantly more common in diabetics than in non-diabetic control subjects. Candida species were cultured from 46% of diabetics. The only species insolated from diabetics with atrophic glossitis was Candida albicans. Almost one in five of the diabetics gave positive smears for candidal mycelia. The correlation between atrophic lesions and the finding of candidal mycella in smears was statistically highly significant (P less than 0.01) but a cause-and-effect relationship was not established. Histological examination of a case of diabetic CPA suggest that this may be predisposed by micro-vascular degeneration.