Nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR) in two groups of primer was performed in formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded kidney and liver tissues from 11 autopsies of HBV infected patients for HBV DNA detection. DNA sequence representing HBV infection was detected in all the 11 liver tissue specimens (100%) and in 8 kidney tissue specimens (72.7%). DNA sequence representing HBV replication was detected in only 5 liver tissue specimens. The PCR findings correspond with those obtained in immunohistochemistry studies and in situ hybridization, suggesting that HBV can infect the kidney but does not replicate in this organ and that the kidney pathology in HBV infected patients may be the result of immuno-intermediate injury from immunocomplex deposited in glomeruli.