Objective:To investigate the relationship between the department where patients with nasopharyngeal carcinomas was first admitted and the delayed diagnoses(or misdiagnosis).Methods:The data of 1998 cases of nasopharyngeal carcinomas were collected and analyzed.Results:The department of otolaryngology and the radiation oncology have the high correction rates for the first diagnosis,but misdiagnosis rates in departments of surgical,internal medicine and traditional Chinese medicine were very poor.Conclusion:The clinical knowledge about nasopharyngeal carcinomas was the most important factor for the first diagnoses.