The attenuation of peak ground accelerations was studied for eight New Zealand earthquakes which occurred in the period 1987 to 1991. These events were of medium size with moment magnitudes in the range Mw = 5.8 - 6.7, with depth to centroids of the fault rupture ranging from 4 to 60 km. Attenuation of peak ground accelerations was examined for each event, based on the slope distance from the rupture surface to each strong motion data site. The mean regression attenuation curve for each event was compared with those derived by others using data sets from other parts of the world, allowance being made for source mechanism and depth. Excepting the 1988 Te Anau event, the other seven New Zealand events as a set closely match a Japanese model, but give significantly stronger accelerations than those predicted by the models from western USA and Europe.