Fifteen Burley and forty-six flue-cured tobacco fields were evaluated in 1990 and 1991 to determine percent plants infected with root-knot nematodes (incidence) and to establish distribution and damage caused in the tobacco-growing province of Caceres, Spain. A mechanical potato-digger mounted on a tractor was used to remove the entire root system and stalks of tobacco after harvest. One hundred plants in each of ten alternating rows were evaluated in each field for presence of galls and degree of galling (disease severity) using a scale from 1 to 10. Mean incidence of root-knot nematodes on burley tobacco averaged over years was 65.6% with a mean severity rating of 3.5. On flue-cured tobacco root-knot incidence was 56% with a mean severity rating of 4.5. The identity of the Meloidogyne species in tobacco in Spain is currently being investigated, but preliminaty data indicate a high incidence of Meloidogyne incognita.