Abstract. Objective: Is there any relationship between nutritional status and the status of trace elements in patients with advanced head and neck cancer? Material and methods: We have analyzed the register data of 42 head and neck cancer patients. Survival data of 22 women and 20 men were included. The mean age was 67.3 ± 10.77 years. Bioimpedance analysis (BIA) was measured by Biocorpus 4000 RX (MEDIcal Health Care GmbH, Karlsruhe, Germany) and was summarized in individual phase angle (PA) of each patient. Trace elements (selenium, zinc, iron) were measured in serum samples at the same time, so we got individual data sets for each patient. Results: Patients with normal PA > 5.0° have a significantly better survival (p = 0.016). The median survival time is 13.84 months (range 0.69 – 125.19) in malnourished patients (PA < 5.0) compared to 51.16 months (range 7.02 – 116.79) in normally nourished head and neck cancer (HNC) patients (PA > 5.0). Age-adjusted body mass index has a similar impact on prognosis (p = 0.068) in the investigated study groups. Trace element (TE) deficits are seen more often in PA < 5.0° patients for selenium (p = 0.064) and zinc (p = 0.116). No relationship between nutritional status and TE status was seen for iron. Conclusion: BIA is able to document the impact of malnutrition on survival in the group of head and neck cancer patients. Furthermore, it filters the selenium- and zinc-deficient patients.