To investigate the gesture comprehension in severe aphasics and its significance in communication, 12 severe aphasics and 12 normal controls were given a test of gesture comprehension and other tests of auditory comprehension and of reading comprehension. The major findings were as follows.
(1) The scores made by severe aphasics were significantly lower than those of normal controls on the gesture and verbal comprehension tests.
(2) Within the severe aphasics, defects in gesture comprehension were closely associated with defects in auditory comprehension.
(3) On the test of gesture comprehension, the errors made by aphasics were related to the plausibility between the gesture and the object.
(4) Despite the impaired comprehension of gestures in aphasia, it is efficient to use gesture in communication with severe aphasics.
The clinical implications of these findings were discussed.

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