In order to select appropriate methods to locate non opaque stones of the upper urinary tract, 63 cases with non opaque stones of the upper urinary tract were identified by using retrograde urography (RGU) and intravenous urography and then were treated with extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy (ESWL). The curative rate of stones in a single procedure was 87.3%(55/63). In 5 cases of renal pelvic stones, in 34 cases of the upper and middle ureter stones and in 24 cases of the lower ureter stones, the curative rate of stones in a single procedure was 40%(2/5), 88.24%(30/34) and 95.83%(23/24), repectively. It is concluded that ESWL can still be useful to treat this kind of stones after being localized with the aid of RGU and IVU.