Background : Previous reports have mentioned the increased mortality of percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) in elderly female patients compared with elderly male. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the clinical characteristics, coronary lesion, characteristics and differences of success rate of PCI between male and female elderly patients. Methods : Three hundred sixty six elderly patients (454 lesions), including 210 male (255 cases, 73.4±2.45 year-old) and 156 female (199 cases, 73.5±2.55 year-old) who underwent PCI at Chonnam National University Hospital between Jan '96 and Dec '98 (out of 3,030 patients during same period). We compared clinical characteristic, coronary artery lesion morphology, success and complication rates of PCI in elderly male and female patients. Result : Clinical diagnosis and risk factors for atherosclerosis were not different between two groups. Right coronary lesions were more common in female and left circumflex artery lesion less common in female patients. The success rate of balloon angioplasty was 93.2% (110/118) in male and 93.3% in (98/105) in female patients, and the success rates of stenting were 99.2% (136/137) in male and 100% (94/94) in female. Success rates of PCI were not different between two groups. Procedure-related mortality was one cardiac death (1/255, 0.39%) in male group only. Complications of elderly male were two occlusive dissection (OD: 2/255, 0.8%), three thrombotic occlusion (TO: 3/255, 1.2%) and two ventricular arrhythmia (VA) with shock (2/255, 0.8%). In 199 female patients, three OD (3/199, 1.5%), three TO (3/199, 1.5%) and two VA (2/199, 1.0%) developed. The complications rates were not different two groups. Conclusion : PCI in female patients older than 70 years can be performed with comparable success and complication rates to those of elderly male patients.(Korean J Med 60:456-462, 2001)