The nasal smear cytology is a simple and easy method which can be done in office, and especially useful for differential diagnosis of chronic rhinitis. We performed this test in the patients who had the history of chronic rhinitis for more than 1 year. The patients with positive skin prick test and specific IgE to the same antigens detected on skin test were classified as allergic rhinitis group, and those patients with negative skin prick test with 72 common allergens were classified as nonallergic rhinitis group. Patients classified as allergic rhinitis showed significantly higher appearance rate of eosinophil and basophils on nasal cytograms than those patients who were classified as nonallergic rhinitis. The goblet cell count on nasal cytograms and PNS X-ray findings of sinusitis showed no significant difference between the two groups.