Intensity measurements have been carried out with an extended-face single crystal of hexagonal CdS using Mo Ka X-radiation at room temperature. The Bragg intensities were analysed by using the oneparticle potential (OPP) within the framework of Dawson's [Proc. R. Soc. London Set. A (1967), 298, [255][256][257][258][259][260][261][262][263] generalized structure-factor formulation with allowance for cubic anharmonic effects. The position parameter in the wurtzite structure which is not determined by symmetry is evaluated, and its dependence on the temperature-factor model used is demonstrated. The most reliable determination of this position parameter, with allowance for cubic anharmonicity, is 0.37715(8). The observation of significant differences between the intensities of nonsymmetry-related reflections occurring at the same Bragg angle demonstrates the possibility of measuring the anharmonicity of thermal vibrations.