BACKGROUND: Today the most common complication of tension free techniques for inguinal hernia repair is postoperative chronic groin pain. METHODS: The study was undertaken at the Department of Surgery, Clinical Hospital Centre Rijeka, where 370 patients were considered who had undergone inguinal hernia repair 6-8 months prior to analysation of their chronic groin pain. The patients had been operated using one of the two different inguinal hernia repair techniques, 300 of them were operated according to Lichtenstein technique and 70 patients according to Trabucco technique. Inguinal nerves were identified and preserved in all patients who were operated. Patients who felt pain were invited to complete a Pain Quality Assessment Scale. RESULTS: In a group of patients who had undergone the Lichtenstein hernioplasty, 18 of them had chronic postoperative groin pain. On the other hand, in a group of 70 patients who were operated using a Trabucco technique, none of them experienced chronic postoperative groin pain. The Pain Quality Assessment Scale was divided into three sub-scales. The first subscale evaluates paroxysmal pain. The arithmetic mean for this cluster of items was 2, which classifies it as mild pain. The second subscale was representing the analysis of surface pain with the mean value 2, 02 and was recognized also as mild. Deep pain was represented in the third subscale with the arithmetic mean of 1, 5 which also pertained to mild pain. CONCLUSIONS: Using Lichtenstein technique in inguinal hernia repair could increases the incidence of postoperative groin pain.