In a retrospective study, a long-term course of fibromyalgia was investigated after at least 10 years since the diagnosis was established. The prognosis was found to be unfavourable in the majority of cases. Thirty-three out of 50 cases examined (66%) were found to still suffer from fibromyalgia. In other patients, both spontaneous pain as well as functional and vegetative symptoms were present, but there were significant differences in severity compared to the group of patients with fibromyalgia. The age of the patients was not related to the outcome of the disease. On the contrary, psychosocial factors and physical activity seem to play a role in this connection.