Cavernous haemangiomas are well circumscribed vascular masses which commonly occur in middle-aged women. The majority occur within the muscle cone lateral to the optic nerve and produce a slowly progressive and painless proptosis. Predilection for sites lateral to the optic nerve may be related to origin from arterial rather than venous elements. Complete excision is usually possible and surgical morbidity is low. A series of 85 consecutive cases is reported.