Anthralin is highly efficacious in the treatment of psoriasia, but it has two major drawbacks: staining of the skin and clothing and irritation of the skin. There have been several studies that the effect of the anthralin with short contact therapy(SCT) is nearly the same as that with the simple application(SA). This study was planned to compare the effect and side effects of SCT with those of SA of anthralin in 27 psoriatic patients visited between November 1982 and June 1983 at the Department of Dermatology, Seoul National University Hospital. The results could be summerized as follows: 1. For 4 weeks of treatment, the longer the duration of treatment, the more similar the effect between the SCT and the SA. 2. After 2 weeks of treatment, the effect of the SA was better than that of the SCT in 5 cases, the same in 18 cases and worse in 1 case. 3. For 4 weeks of treatment, all side effects(irritation, ataining and pruritus) were more frequent in the SA than in the SCT. And irritation was observed earlier than staining. 4. After 2 weeks of treatment, the side effects of the SA were more than those of the SCT in 12 cases and the same in 12 cases. With all our results, we have concluded that the patients who cannot tolerate the SA could be tried with the SCT.