During the past two years, some of the most important and frequently recurring problems raised at discussions in the Hospital Administrative Staff college were related to hospital bed occupancy. In order to provide some material on which to base lectures and discussions for the courses held at the college, a special group was invited to make a study of this subject. This work has been limited to the general hospitals in Greater London, excluding the teaching hospitals as they have specific problems of their own. The Study Group and the Staff College have borne in mind throughout that the interests of the patient in hospital must remain paramount and that the adoption of any recommendations in their report should never be allowed to affect adversely the welfare of the individual patient.