OBJECTIVE: To determine the early success rates of the various methods of treating urethral strictures. DESIGN: A one year prospective, hospital-based study with three months' follow up after treatment. SETTING: The urology unit of the Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Centre (KCMC), a tertiary 500 bed hospital in the Kilimanjaro region of Tanzania. SUBJECTS: Eighty eight consecutive patients of all ages admitted to the urology unit of KCMC for in-patient care of urethral strictures during the one year period of the study. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The age and sex distribution of the patients, causes of urethral strictures, the sites and lengths of the strictures, laboratory results of urinalysis and serum creatinine, the modes of treatment, postoperative complications and outcome of the interventions within the three months' follow up period. RESULTS: The overall three months' success rate of urethral stricture treatment was 90.8% with respective methods of treatment showing varied success rates; the success rates were 80% for staged urethroplasty, 88.4% for DVU, 91.7% for anastomotic urethroplasty and 100% for substitutional urethroplasty. The overall success rate for urethroplasties was 92.1%. CONCLUSION: The treatment of urethral strictures at KCMC is in line with international standards and falls into the acknowledged dichotomy of treatment with intent to cure or palliation with impressive early results. Substitutional urethroplasty has the best early (3 months) results at KCMC.