To assess the long-term effect and safety of non-occlusive intra-vas device (IVD) for male contraception in comparison with no-scalpel vasectomy (NSV).We conducted a follow-up investigation on 100 males who had received IVD and another 50 who had undergone NSV 6 years before. We compared the rates of sperm absence and complications between the two groups.Follow-up visits were successfully performed on 95 males (95%) of the IVD group and 44 (88%) of the NSV group. Pregnancy was not found in any of the cases. Spermatozoa (> or = 5 x 10(6)/ml) were not detected in 87 cases (91.58%) in the IVD group and in 44 cases (95.45%) in the NSV group, with no significant differences between the two groups (P > 0.05). The rate of postoperative complications in the IVD group (11.58%) showed no significant difference from that of the NSV group (4.55%) (P > 0.05).IVD is as effective and safe as NSV for male contraception.