The common symptoms are swelling, pain particularly during weight bearing or loading of the limb. Some patients may have stiffness and pain at the neighbouring joint. For example malunion of the thighbone, the patient may have pain and stiffness of the knee joint. Moreover, patients with limb shortening may suffer from low back pain.

If a fracture malunion is left untreated, it may lead to degeneration of the joints and finally loss of function of the affected limb.