This study aimed to determine the significance in Maori of injury in relation to other health problems, to describe the leading causes of injury, & the determine age specific rates for major classes of injury. For more than 3 contiguous decades of life (1-34 years), injuries were the leading cause of death. For all age groups combined, unintentional injury accounted for 75% of injury deaths, suicide 17%, & assault 7%. The leading mechanism of death was motor vehicle traffic crashes. The second most common mechanism of death was suffocation, 76% of which cases were self-inflicted. There is a need for government agencies with a mandate for injury prevention to develop specific goals for the Maori population. (8 refs.)