The presence of human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) was tested in 388 cervicovaginal cells specimens obtained from the same number of pregnant women. HCMV was detected in 5.41%, 11.6% and 13.9% of these specimens by conventional culture, in situ DNA hybridization and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) methods, respectively. The sensitivities of detecting HCMV by in situ hybridization and PCR methods were 76.2% and 90.5% and the specificities were 92.1% and 90.5%, respectively, when compared with conventional culture method. The PCR compared favourably with both conventional culture and in situ hybridization methods and it may become a valuable and useful tool for the early and rapid detection of HCMV in clinical specimens.