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Although several previous reports of the prenatal detection of intracranial tumors have been published, in each the final diagnosis of the histologic type of tumor was made only postnatally. Even postnatally, an exact diagnosis cannot be made without tissue sampling. We report here a case of ultrasonically detected fetal intracranial tumor, in which fetal brain biopsy was used to make an exact tissue diagnosis antenatally. CASE REPORTA 20 year old primigravida was referred from an outlying area for ultrasonography at 28 weeks' gestation as the fundal height exceeded that expected for dates. There was no history of consanguinity, and no other specific risk factors were identified. Sonography revealed a single live fetus lying transversely and the presence of polyhydramnios. The placenta was anterior. Although both femur length and abdominal circumference were appropriate for gestational age, both the biparietal diameter and head circumference (10.5 and 44.4 em, respectively) were above the 95th percentile. A 7.0 x 6.0 em solid, heterogeneous mass containing some areas of calcification was identified in the