Oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) is increasingly of interest in dentistry. The current internationally accepted instruments used to measure OHRQoL need to be cross-culturally adapted for use in other cultural environments. It was the aim of the present study to develop a Hungarian version of the Oral Health Impact Profile (OHIP-H) following accepted guidelines. The original English-language version was translated into Hungarian, back-translated into English, and tested for its psychometric properties. Construct validity was tested on 144 prosthodontic patients and 200 randomly selected subjects. A priori hypothesized associations between OHIP summary scores and self-reported oral health and six self-reported oral conditions were investigated. The pattern of the observed associations supported the new instrument's construct validity. Responsiveness tested in 28 oral surgery patients was indicated by a statistically significant mean OHIP score change from 39.2 to 23.0. Test-retest reliability was demonstrated by intraclass correlation coefficients of 0.81-0.90 for OHIP summary scores and subscales in 31 prosthodontic patients. Cronbach's alpha values between 0.71 and 0.96 proved to have high internal consistency. Adequate psychometric properties in typical patient populations make the new instrument suitable for assessment of OHRQoL in Hungary.