It has been suggested that among American Indians, as in some genetically-related Asiatic ethnic groups, incidence of cleft lip and/or cleft palate is higher than among people of Caucasian extraction. Such hypothesis, plus growing demand for services observed at a center for the surgery of cleft lip and cleft palate in Campeche state, led the authors to undertake research among the Maya residents of that region. However, neither careful review of case histories nor field research performed in several Indian communities could confirm the hypothesis of a higher incidence among this ethnic community.