Our case histories record an increasing frequency of acute abdomen in AIDS patients. The aim of our study was to give a summary of the presentation, the duration of the symptoms, the evolution and the surgical outcome of 12 AIDS and 2 HIV positive patients, who during their admission to the Institute of Infections Diseases, developed acute abdomen. We performed 8 laparotomies in 7 patients with one postoperative death in a patient who had undergone a gastrectomy. The survival in patients subject to surgery ranged from 1 to 8 months. Two patients are still alive 4 and 8 months after surgery, respectively. Survival for the patients who did not undergo laparotomy ranges from a few days to 8 months.