The purpose of the current study was to determine whether factor V Leiden and the prothrombin 20210A gene mutation are risk factors for osteonecrosis of the femoral head in different etiologic groups of osteonecrosis in adults and whether patients with idiopathic osteonecrosis of the femoral head have a higher frequency of thromboembolic events compared with the general population. We investigated 63 adult patients with nontraumatic osteonecrosis of the femoral head for etiologic factors, such as corticosteroid medication and alcohol abuse, and the occurrence of factor V Leiden and the prothrombin 20210A gene mutation. In 35 patients, the disease was considered idiopathic and 10 of these patients (29%) had factor V Leiden or the prothrombin 20210A gene mutation or both. Mutations in factor V or the prothrombin 20210A gene were significantly more frequent in patients with idiopathic osteonecrosis than in a population of healthy control subjects (odds ratio, 2.7; 95% confidence interval range, 1.2-5.8) and in patients with osteonecrosis caused by corticosteroid medication or alcohol abuse (odds ratio, 10.8; 95% confidence interval range, 1.4-84). 36% of patients with a gene mutation had had a thromboembolic event compared with 8% of patients without a gene mutation. Thromboembolic events were more common among patients with idiopathic osteonecrosis (17%) compared with the general population (4%) and with patients with osteonecrosis caused by corticosteroid medication or alcohol abuse (7%).