Abstract Background The relationship between tongue volume and oral cavity volume (TV/OCV) ratio and upper airway volume is of great interest especially in skeletal Class II cases because they are commonly associated with retruded mandible as seen in Class II div. 1. It results in backward displacement of the tongue and hyoid bone causing reduction in the upper airway volume. This reduction in the upper airway volume is a causative factor for some common respiratory disorders such as obstructive sleep apnea syndrome. Aim The present study was carried out to find the effect of tongue size and oral cavity size and their ratio on the upper airway volume in skeletal Class II cases. Methods A cross-section study was performed on cone beam computed tomography images of 40 skeletal Class II patients whose age ranges from 17 to 22 years old. The volume of the nasopharyngeal airway, oropharyngeal airway, hypopharyngeal airway, nasoethmoid cavity (nasal cavity and ethmoid sinus), right and left maxillary sinus and oral cavity airway were calculated by using materialize Mimics Medical, Version 21.0. Correlation of each segment with TV/OCV ratio was detected. Results It was found that TV/OCV ratio had a significant positive correlation with TV (P < 0.05). TV/OCV ratio had a highly significant negative correlation with oral cavity airway volume (P < 0.001). Conclusions These findings reflect the relationship of TV/OCV and their ratio on the upper airway especially in skeletal Class II malocclusions.