This investigation was designed to describe the 12-month functional recovery following hip fracture, testing the hypothesis that intensive rehabilitation would enhance the level of functional recovery. The study included 50 patients with intertrochanteric, and 25 patients with subcapital hip fractures who were admitted to the Massachusetts General Hospital teaching service (67% women, mean age = 78 yr). Twenty-nine percent of the patients died in the year after fracture. Among survivors, only 33% and 21% regained their prefracture function in five basic and six instrumental activities of daily living, respectively. Twenty-six percent regained their prefracture level of social/role functioning. There were no statistically significant differences in mortality, hospital discharge status, or pattern and level of functional recovery, between patients receiving experimental and standard approaches to hospital rehabilitation.