Functional electrical stimulation (FES) is a procedure that is increasingly accepted as part in the rehabilitation programme in stroke. We have investigated the effectiveness of a 9 days programme of peroneal nerve stimulation with an ODFS2 device in stroke survivors. Stimulation was synchronised with the swing phase of gait. 25 chronic patients have trained for 30 – 45 minutes each day. Speed, stride length and physiological cost index have been measured over a 25 m straight course, with and without the use of FES, both in the 25 patients active group and in a 5 patients control group. Depression has been evaluated with the Hamilton scale before and after the training. Transcranial magnetic stimulation was used to evaluate cortical changes induced by FES training in 10 of the patients in the active group. Increase in speed, stride length and a decrease of effort (physiological cost index, PCI) were recorded both for normal gait and for the FES enhanced gait compared to the initial performance and to the controls. There was a significant supplementary decrease of PCI for FES gait compared to normal gait. No significant correlation was found between Hamilton scores and motor performance. A slightly enhanced cortical excitability was found on the lesioned hemisphere. Changes of the motor threshold, amplitude of the MEP and of the cortical representation of the lower limb were found on the healthy hemisphere.