A clinical study was made of 53 patients with previously untreated hypopharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma in our department between 2005 and 2009. Forty cases were treated by concurrent chemoradiotherapy with 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) 800 mg/m² from day 1 to day 5 and cisplatin (CDDP) 80 mg/m² on day 6. Complete response in the primary region was obtained in 34 (85%) out of the 40 patients, and 26 (97%) in 27 resectable cases. Cause-specific five-year survival rates were 51% in all cases and 68% in resectable patients. Major adverse effects were leucopenia and mucositis, which were tolerable and no fatal case was observed. This study showed that concurrent chemoradiotherapy of CDDP plus 5-FU was an effective treatment for hypopharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma, and also was well tolerated. However, further investigation is required on new therapeutic strategies for advanced hypopharyngeal carcinoma.