Forty-eight (48) cases of ovarian carcinoma subjected to primary surgery and platinum based chemotherapy followed by second-look laparotomy (SLL) were analyzed with respect to p53 status. Overall aberrant p53 accumulation was observed in 20 (41.6%) out of 48 patients. While one out of 5 patients (20.0%) with stage I-II disease showed positive p53 staining, 19 out of 43 patients (44.1%) with stage III disease were found to be positive for p53. According to the histologic types, 41.9% of serous (13/31), 33.3% of endometrioid (2/6), 50.0% of transitional (2/4), 40.0% of mixed (2/5) and 50,0% of mucinous types of tumors showed abnormal expression of p53. p53 positivity was found in 12 (54.5%) out of 22 SLL(+) patients while only 8 (30.7%) were p53 positive out of 26 with SLL(-) patients. Cases with abnormal p53 accumulation tended to be SLL positive, however, the difference was not significant.