Objectives: This study aimed to show some applications of mortality statistics based on the concepts of excess and premature mortality as well as to select more specific cause groups that might be useful as tracer categories in Kuwait. Methods: Data used for this study were collected from the records of all deaths reaching Health and Vital Statistics Department in Kuwait during 1989 and 1999. The underlying causes of death were coded according to the ICD-9. The codes were grouped according to Basic Tabulation List of ICD-9. Direct standardization was used to adjust for the differences in age and sex distribution between the two years. Calculation of rates was based on the total Kuwaiti population aged 1-69 years. Results: The number of standardized deaths increased by 34.1% between the year 1989 and 1999, while the number of standardized years of potential life lost increased by 36.6%. The overall standarized mortality rate for all causes of death in 1999 increased by 34.02% in comparison with 1989. On the other hand, the standardized rate of years of potential life lost for all causes of death increased by 37.6% for the same years. The main causes of death according to standarized mortality rate were heart diseases, malignant neoplasms, and motor vehicle accidents with no difference in ranking between the two years, whereas, the main causes according to standardized years of potential life lost were motor vehicle accidents, heart diseases and other injuries, respectively, in 1999. The premature causes in 1989 were heart diseases, motor vehicle accidents and malignant neoplasms, respectively. The study revealed male predominance for most of the selected causes. Male to female relative risk revealed that males were at an increased risk than females for motor vehicle accidents, other injuries (five folds or more) and for heart diseases [about 1.5 times]. The main causes of female premature deaths were heart diseases, malignant neoplasms and motor vehicle accidents in both years, while the main causes among males were motor vehicle accidents, heart diseases and other injuries in both years in that order. Conclusions: The analysis of the years of potential life lost led to a substantially different ranking of the main causes of death, based on what might be termed "premature mortality" compared with that obtained from more conventional mortality indices. According to this the main causes of premature death [1-69 year] in Kuwait are motor vehicle accidents, heart diseases and other injuries.