Acetabular labral tears are well recognized in the pathology of hip disease. The patterns of such tears found in 37 patients undergoing hip arthroscopy have been analyzed. Distinct categories of labral tear were found, and may be classified in terms of etiology (traumatic, 18.9% of cases; degenerative, 48.6%; idiopathic, 27.1%; congenital, 5.4%) and morphology (radial flap, 56.8%; radial fibrillated, 21.6%; longitudinal peripheral, 16.2%; unstable, 5.4%).