HPV belongs to a family of tumorigenic viruses and induces cutaneous and mucosal proliferation of epithelial cells (papillomas, condylomas, warts). The abnormality accumulation of p53 protein appears to be a common step in the development of many human cancers and has been frequently reports in human cancers including head and neck. The aim of this study was to examine HPV infection incidents and p53 alteration in oral papillomas. HPV was detected by PCR, p53 accumulation by immunohistochemical detection. The overexpression of p53 was revealed in 20 cases (55%) out of 36 papillomas. We found p53 overexpression in 8 out of 13 HPV positive papillomas (61.5%) and in 12 out of 23 HPV negative papillomas (52%). Our findings indicate that HPV infection and/or changes in p53 protein coexist in oral cavity papillomas.