15 of 15
                                FORM 10-Q


                    SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
                         WASHINGTON, D.C.  20549

(Mark One)

(X)  QUARTERLY REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d)
     OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

For the quarterly period ended March 31, 1999

                                    OR

( )  TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d)
     OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

For the transition period from ________________ to ________________

Commission file number 0-16494


        Southwest Royalties Institutional Income Fund VIII-B, L.P.
                  (Exact name of registrant as specified
                  in its limited partnership agreement)

Delaware                                        75-2220418
(State or other jurisdiction of                (I.R.S. Employer
incorporation or organization)                Identification No.)


                       407 N. Big Spring, Suite 300
                           Midland, Texas 79701
                 (Address of principal executive offices)

                             (915) 686-9927
                     (Registrant's telephone number,
                           including area code)

Indicate  by  check  mark  whether registrant (1)  has  filed  all  reports
required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange  Act
of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the
registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject  to
such filing requirements for the past 90 days:

                            Yes   X   No

        The total number of pages contained in this report is 15.

<PAGE>
                     PART I. - FINANCIAL INFORMATION


Item 1.   Financial Statements

The  unaudited  condensed financial statements included  herein  have  been
prepared  by  the Registrant (herein also referred to as the "Partnership")
in  accordance  with generally accepted accounting principles  for  interim
financial information and with the instructions to Form 10-Q and Rule 10-01
of Regulation S-X.  Accordingly, they do not include all of the information
and  footnotes  required  by generally accepted accounting  principles  for
complete   financial  statements.   In  the  opinion  of  management,   all
adjustments necessary for a fair presentation have been included and are of
a  normal  recurring nature.  The financial statements should  be  read  in
conjunction with the audited financial statements and the notes thereto for
the  year ended December 31, 1998 which are found in the Registrant's  Form
10-K  Report  for  1998 filed with the Securities and Exchange  Commission.
The December 31, 1998 balance sheet included herein has been taken from the
Registrant's 1998 Form 10-K Report.  Operating results for the three  month
period  ended March 31, 1999 are not necessarily indicative of the  results
that may be expected for the full year.

<PAGE>
        Southwest Royalties Institutional Income Fund VIII-B, L.P.

                              Balance Sheets


                                                 March 31,      December 31,
                                                      1999             1998
---------                                       ------------
                                                (unaudited)
  Assets

Current assets:
 Cash and cash equivalents                    $     29,254         33,562
 Receivable from Managing General
  Partner                                           49,625         21,626
                                                 ---------      ---------
   Total current assets                             78,879         55,188
                                                 ---------      ---------
Oil and gas properties - using the
 full-cost method of accounting                  4,133,496      4,133,496
  Less accumulated depreciation,
   depletion and amortization                    3,621,058      3,608,058
                                                 ---------      ---------
   Net oil and gas properties                      512,438        525,438
                                                 ---------      ---------
                                              $    591,317        580,626
                                                 =========      =========
  Liabilities and Partners' Equity

Current liabilities:
 Distributions payable                        $        532            532
                                                 ---------      ---------
Partners' equity:
 General partners                                    2,161          (208)
 Limited partners                                  588,624        580,302
                                                 ---------      ---------
   Total partners' equity                          590,785        580,094
                                                 ---------      ---------
                                              $    591,317        580,626
                                                 =========      =========

<PAGE>
        Southwest Royalties Institutional Income Fund VIII-B, L.P.

                         Statements of Operations
                               (unaudited)


                                                        Three Months Ended
                                                            March 31,
                                                          1999      1998
                                                          ----      ----
  Revenues

Income from net profits interests                   $    43,592     91,333
Interest                                                    228        811
                                                        -------    -------
                                                         43,820     92,144
                                                        -------    -------
  Expenses

General and administrative                               20,129     27,398
Depreciation, depletion and amortization                 13,000     42,000
                                                        -------    -------
                                                         33,129     69,398
                                                        -------    -------
Net income                                          $    10,691     22,746
                                                        =======    =======
Net income allocated to:

 Managing General Partner                           $     2,132      5,827
                                                        =======    =======
 General partner                                    $       237        648
                                                        =======    =======
 Limited partners                                   $     8,322     16,271
                                                        =======    =======
  Per limited partner unit                          $       .82       1.61
                                                        =======    =======

<PAGE>
        Southwest Royalties Institutional Income Fund VIII-B, L.P.

                         Statements of Cash Flows
                               (unaudited)


                                                        Three Months Ended
                                                            March 31,
                                                          1999      1998
                                                          ----      ----
Cash flows from operating activities:

 Cash received from income from net profits
  interests                                         $    10,388    118,565
 Cash paid to suppliers                                (14,924)    (2,784)
 Interest received                                          228        811
                                                       --------   --------
  Net cash provided by (used in) operating activities               (4,308)
116,592
                                                       --------   --------
Cash flows provided by investing activities:

 Sale of oil and gas properties                               -     52,243
                                                       --------   --------
Cash flows used in financing activities:

 Distributions to partners                                    -  (138,057)
                                                       --------   --------
Net  increase (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents               (4,308)
30,778

 Beginning of period                                     33,562      3,347
                                                       --------   --------
 End of period                                      $    29,254     34,125
                                                       ========   ========

                                                               (continued)

<PAGE>
        Southwest Royalties Institutional Income Fund VIII-B, L.P.

                   Statements of Cash Flows, continued
                               (unaudited)


                                                        Three Months Ended
                                                            March 31,
                                                          1999      1998
                                                          ----      ----

Reconciliation of net income to net cash
 provided by (used in ) operating activities:

Net income                                          $    10,691     22,746

Adjustments to reconcile net income to net
 cash provided by (used in) operating activities:

  Depreciation, depletion and amortization               13,000     42,000
  Decrease (increase) in receivables                   (33,204)     27,232
  Increase in payables                                    5,205     24,614
                                                        -------    -------
Net cash provided by (used in) operating activities $   (4,308)    116,592
                                                        =======    =======

<PAGE>
        Southwest Royalties Institutional Income Fund VIII-B, L.P.
                     (a Delaware limited partnership)

                      Notes to Financial Statements


1.   Organization
     Southwest  Royalties  Institutional  Income  Fund  VIII-B,  L.P.   was
     organized  under  the laws of the state of Delaware  on  November  30,
     1987,  for  the purpose of acquiring producing oil and gas  properties
     and to produce and market crude oil and natural gas produced from such
     properties  for a term of 50 years, unless terminated  at  an  earlier
     date  as  provided for in the Partnership Agreement.  The offering  of
     limited   partner   units  began  March  31,  1988,  minimum   capital
     requirements  were met July 11, 1988, with the offering  concluded  on
     March 31, 1989.

     The  Partnership  sells its oil and gas production  to  a  variety  of
     purchasers  with the prices it receives being dependent upon  the  oil
     and  gas  economy.  Southwest Royalties, Inc. serves as  the  Managing
     General  Partner  and  H. H. Wommack, III, as the  individual  general
     partner.  Revenues, costs and expenses are allocated as follows:

                                                     Limited      General
                                                     Partners     Partners
                                                     --------     --------
     Interest income on capital contributions          100%          -
     Oil and gas sales from net profits interests       90%         10%
     All other revenues                                 90%         10%
     Organization and offering costs (1)               100%          -
     Amortization of organization costs                100%          -
     Property acquisition costs                        100%          -
     Gain/loss on property dispositions                 90%         10%
     Operating and administrative costs (2)             90%         10%
     Depreciation, depletion and amortization
      of oil and gas properties                        100%          -
     All other costs                                    90%         10%

          (1)   All  organization costs in excess of 3% of initial  capital
          contributions  will be paid by the Managing General  Partner  and
          will  be treated as a capital contribution.  The Partnership paid
          the  Managing  General Partner an amount equal to 3%  of  initial
          capital contributions for such organization costs.

          (2)   Administrative costs in any year which exceed 2% of capital
          contributions shall be paid by the Managing Partner and  will  be
          treated as a capital contribution.

2.   Summary of Significant Accounting Policies
     The  interim financial information as of March 31, 1999, and  for  the
     three  months ended March 31, 1999, is unaudited.  Certain information
     and  footnote  disclosures normally included in  financial  statements
     prepared  in accordance with generally accepted accounting  principles
     have been condensed or omitted in this Form 10-Q pursuant to the rules
     and  regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission.   However,
     in  the  opinion  of  management, these interim  financial  statements
     include all the necessary adjustments to fairly present the results of
     the interim periods and all such adjustments are of a normal recurring
     nature.  The interim consolidated financial statements should be  read
     in  conjunction  with the audited financial statements  for  the  year
     ended December 31, 1998.

<PAGE>
Item 2.   Management's  Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition  and
          Results of Operations

General

Southwest Royalties Institutional Income Fund VIII-B, L.P. was organized as
a  Delaware limited partnership on November 30, 1987. The offering of  such
limited  partnership  interests  began  March  31,  1988,  minimum  capital
requirements were met July 11, 1988, and concluded on March 31,  1989  with
total limited partner contributions of $5,073,500.

The Partnership was formed to acquire royalty and net profits interests  in
producing  oil  and  gas properties, to produce and market  crude  oil  and
natural  gas  produced  from such properties, and  to  distribute  the  net
proceeds from operations to the limited and general partners.  Net revenues
from  producing  oil  and gas properties will not be  reinvested  in  other
revenue  producing  assets except to the extent that production  facilities
and wells are improved or reworked or where methods are employed to improve
or enable more efficient recovery of oil and gas reserves.

Increases   or   decreases   in  Partnership   revenues   and,   therefore,
distributions  to partners will depend primarily on changes in  the  prices
received  for  production,  changes in volumes of  production  sold,  lease
operating  expenses, enhanced recovery projects, offset drilling activities
pursuant  to farm-out arrangements, sales of properties, and the  depletion
of  wells.   Since  wells deplete over time, production  can  generally  be
expected to decline from year to year.

Well  operating costs and general and administrative costs usually decrease
with   production   declines;  however,  these  costs  may   not   decrease
proportionately.  Net income available for distribution to the partners  is
therefore expected to fluctuate in later years based on these factors.

Based  on  current  conditions, management does not  anticipate  performing
workovers  during  the  next year to enhance production.   The  Partnership
could possibly experience a normal decline of 8% to 10% per year.

Oil and Gas Properties

Oil  and  gas  properties  are accounted for at cost  under  the  full-cost
method.  Under this method, all productive and nonproductive costs incurred
in  connection with the acquisition, exploration and development of oil and
gas  reserves  are capitalized.  Gain or loss on the sale of  oil  and  gas
properties  is not recognized unless significant oil and gas  reserves  are
involved.

The  Partnership's policy for depreciation, depletion and  amortization  of
oil  and  gas  properties is computed under the units  of  revenue  method.
Under the units of revenue method, depreciation, depletion and amortization
is  computed  on  the  basis of current gross revenues from  production  in
relation  to future gross revenues, based on current prices, from estimated
production of proved oil and gas reserves.

Should the net capitalized costs exceed the estimated present value of  oil
and gas reserves, discounted at 10%, such excess costs would be charged  to
current  expense.  As of March 31, 1999, the net capitalized costs did  not
exceed the estimated present value of oil and gas reserves.  A continuation
of  the  oil price environment experienced during 1998 will have an adverse
affect  on  the Company's revenues and operating cash flow.  Also,  further
declines in oil prices could result in additional decreases in the carrying
value of the Company's oil and gas properties.

<PAGE>
Results of Operations

A.  General Comparison of the Quarters Ended March 31, 1999 and 1998

The  following  table  provides certain information  regarding  performance
factors for the quarters ended March 31, 1999 and 1998:

                                              Three Months
                                                 Ended           Percentage
                                                March 31,         Increase
                                              1999      1998     (Decrease)
                                              ----      ----     ----------
Average price per barrel of oil           $   10.53     14.68    (28%)
Average price per mcf of gas              $    1.84      2.19    (16%)
Oil production in barrels                    10,900    13,300    (18%)
Gas production in mcf                        13,000    14,100     (8%)
Income from net profits interests         $  43,592    91,333    (52%)
Partnership distributions                 $       -   138,320   (100%)
Limited partner distributions             $       -   126,320   (100%)
Per unit distribution to limited
 partners                                 $       -     12.45   (100%)
Number of limited partner units              10,147    10,147

Revenues

The  Partnership's income from net profits interests decreased  to  $43,592
from  $91,333 for the quarters ended March 31, 1999 and 1998, respectively,
a  decrease of 52%.  The principal factors affecting the comparison of  the
quarters ended March 31, 1999 and 1998 are as follows:

1.  The  average  price  for a barrel of oil received  by  the  Partnership
    decreased  during the quarter ended March 31, 1999 as compared  to  the
    quarter ended March 31, 1998 by 28%, or $4.15 per barrel, resulting  in
    a  decrease  of  approximately  $55,200  in  income  from  net  profits
    interests.  Oil sales represented 83% of total oil and gas sales during
    the  quarter ended March 31, 1999 as compared to 86% during the quarter
    ended March 31, 1998.

    The  average  price  for  an  mcf of gas received  by  the  Partnership
    decreased during the same period by 16%, or $.35 per mcf, resulting  in
    a   decrease  of  approximately  $4,900  in  income  from  net  profits
    interests.

    The  total  decrease in income from net profits interests  due  to  the
    change  in prices received from oil and gas production is approximately
    $60,100.   The market price for oil and gas has been extremely volatile
    over  the  past  decade, and management expects  a  certain  amount  of
    volatility to continue in the foreseeable future.

<PAGE>
2.  Oil  production decreased approximately 2,400 barrels or 18% during the
    quarter ended March 31, 1999 as compared to the quarter ended March 31,
    1998,  resulting in a decrease of approximately $25,300 in income  from
    net profits interests.

    Gas  production decreased approximately 1,100 mcf or 8% during the same
    period, resulting in a decrease of approximately $2,000 in income  from
    net profits interests.

    The  total  decrease in income from net profits interests  due  to  the
    change in production is approximately $27,300.

3.  Lease  operating  costs  and  production  taxes  were  29%  lower,   or
    approximately $39,600 less during the quarter ended March 31,  1999  as
    compared  to  the quarter ended March 31, 1998.  The decline  in  lease
    operating  costs  is primarily in relation to the drop  in  oil  prices
    which  made it uneconomical to perform workovers necessary to  increase
    production and perform major repairs thus making it necessary to  shut-
    in some wells.

Costs and Expenses

Total costs and expenses decreased to $33,129 from $69,398 for the quarters
ended  March  31,  1999  and 1998, respectively, a decrease  of  52%.   The
decrease  is  the  result of lower general and administrative  expense  and
depletion expense.

1.  General and administrative costs consists of independent accounting and
    engineering  fees,  computer services, postage,  and  Managing  General
    Partner  personnel costs.  General and administrative  costs  decreased
    27% or approximately $7,300 during the quarter ended March 31, 1999  as
    compared to the quarter ended March 31, 1998.  The decrease of  general
    and administrative costs for the quarter were in part due to additional
    accounting costs incurred in 1998 in relation to the outsourcing of K-1
    tax  package preparation; a change in auditors requiring opinions  from
    both  the  predecessors and successor auditors  and  a  new  accounting
    pronouncement requiring review by the independent auditors of  the  10-
    Q's.   The Managing General Partner has also made an effort to cut back
    on general and administrative costs whenever and wherever possible.

2.  Depletion expense decreased to $13,000 for the quarter ended March  31,
    1999  from  $42,000  for the same period in 1998.   This  represents  a
    decrease  of 69%.  Depletion is calculated using the units  of  revenue
    method  of  amortization based on a percentage of current period  gross
    revenues  to  total future gross oil and gas revenues, as estimated  by
    the  Partnership's  independent  petroleum  consultants.   Contributing
    factors  to  the decrease in depletion expense between the  comparative
    periods were the decrease in the price of oil and the decrease  in  oil
    and gas revenue.

<PAGE>
Liquidity and Capital Resources

The  primary source of cash is from operations, the receipt of income  from
interests in oil and gas properties.  The Partnership knows of no  material
change, nor does it anticipate any such change.

Cash  flows  provided by (used in) operating activities were  approximately
$(4,300)  in  the quarter ended March 31, 1999 as compared to approximately
$116,600 in the quarter ended March 31, 1998.  The primary use of the  1999
cash flow from operating activities was operations.

There  were  no cash flows provided by investing activities in the  quarter
ended  March  31, 1999 as compared to approximately $52,200 in the  quarter
ended March 31, 1998.

There  were no cash flows used in financing activities in the quarter ended
March  31, 1999 as compared to approximately $138,100 in the quarter  ended
March 31, 1998.

There were no distributions during the quarter ended March 31, 1999.  Total
distributions  during  the quarter ended March 31, 1998  were  $138,320  of
which  $126,320 was distributed to the limited partners and $12,000 to  the
general partners.  The per unit distribution to limited partners during the
quarter ended March 31, 1998 was $12.45.

The  source  for  the  1998  distributions of  $138,100  was  oil  and  gas
operations of approximately $116,600 and the sale of oil and gas properties
of $52,200.

Since  inception of the Partnership, cumulative monthly cash  distributions
of  $5,581,587  have  been made to the partners.  As  of  March  31,  1999,
$5,043,913 or $497.08 per limited partner unit has been distributed to  the
limited partners, representing an 99% return of the capital contributed.

As  of March 31, 1999, the Partnership had approximately $78,347 in working
capital.   The  Managing  General Partner knows of no  unusual  contractual
commitments  and  believes  the  revenues  generated  from  operations  are
adequate to meet the needs of the Partnership.

Liquidity - Managing General Partner

The  Managing General Partner has a highly leveraged capital structure with
over   $21.0  million  of  interest  payments  due  in  1999  on  its  debt
obligations.   Due  to  severely depressed commodity prices,  the  Managing
General  Partner  is experiencing difficulty in generating sufficient  cash
flow  to  meet  its obligations and sustain its operations.   The  Managing
General  Partner is currently in the process of renegotiating the terms  of
its  various obligations with its creditors and/or attempting to  seek  new
lenders  or  equity investors.  Additionally, the Managing General  Partner
would   consider  disposing  of  certain  assets  in  order  to  meet   its
obligations.

There  can  be  no  assurance  that  the Managing  General  Partner's  debt
restructuring efforts will be successful or that the lenders will agree  to
a   course   of  action  consistent  with  the  Managing  General  Partners
requirements  in restructuring the obligations.  Even if such agreement  is
reached,  it  may  require approval of additional  lenders,  which  is  not
assured.   Furthermore, there can be no assurance that the sales of  assets
can  be  successfully  accomplished on terms  acceptable  to  the  Managing
General   Partner.   Under  current  circumstances,  the  Managing  General
Partner's  ability to continue as a going concern depends upon its  ability
to  (1)  successfully  restructure  its obligations  or  obtain  additional
financing  as  may  be  required, (2) maintain  compliance  with  all  debt
covenants, (3) generate sufficient cash flow to meet its obligations  on  a
timely  basis, and (4) achieve satisfactory levels of future earnings.   If
the  Managing  General Partner is unsuccessful in its efforts,  it  may  be
unable to meet its obligations making it necessary to undertake such  other
actions as may be appropriate to preserve asset values.

<PAGE>
Information Systems for the Year 2000

The  Managing  General Partner provides all data processing  needs  of  the
Partnership.  The Managing General Partner is continuing in its  effort  to
identify  and  assess its exposure to the potential Year 2000 software  and
imbedded  chip processing and date sensitivity issue.  Through the Managing
General  Partners  data processing subsidiary, Midland Southwest  Software,
Inc., the Managing General Partner proactively initiated a plan to identify
applicable hardware and software, assess impact and effect, estimate costs,
construct and implement corrective actions, and prepare contingency plans.

Identification & Assessment

The  Managing  General  Partner currently believes it  has  identified  the
internal  and external software and hardware that may have date sensitivity
problems.  Four critical systems and/or functions were identified:  (1) the
proprietary software of the Partnership (OGAS) that is used for oil  &  gas
property management and financial accounting functions, (2) the DEC VAX/VMS
hardware and operating system, (3) various third-party application software
including  lease  economic  analysis, fixed  asset  management,  geological
applications, and payroll/human resource programs, and (4) External Agents.

The  proprietary  software of the Partnership is currently  in  process  of
meeting  compliance requirements with an estimated completion date of  mid-
year  1999.   Since this is an internally generated software  package,  the
Managing General Partner has estimated the cost to be approximately $25,000
by  estimating the necessary man-hours.  These modifications are being made
by internal staff and do not represent additional costs to the Partnership.
The  Managing General Partner has not made contingency plans at  this  time
since  the  conversion is ahead of schedule and being handled  by  Managing
General  Partner controlled internal programmers.  Given the complexity  of
the systems being modified, it is anticipated that some problems may arise,
but  with  an expected early completion date, the Managing General  Partner
feels that adequate time is available to overcome unforeseen delays.

DEC has released a fully compliant version of its operating system that  is
used  by  the  Partnership on the DEC VAX system.  It will be installed  in
August 1999, the Managing General Partner believes that this will solve any
potential problems on the system.

The  Managing  General Partner has identified various third-party  software
that may have date sensitivity problems and is working with the vendors  to
secure  solutions as well as prepare contingency plans.  After  review  and
evaluation  of  the vendor plans and status, the Managing  General  Partner
believes that the problems will be resolved prior to the year 2000  or  the
alternate  contingency plan will sufficiently and adequately remediate  the
problem so that there is no material disruption to business functions.

The  External  Agents  of  the  Partnership include  suppliers,  customers,
owners,  vendors, banks, product purchasers including pipelines, and  other
oil  and  gas property operators.  The Managing General Partner is  in  the
process of identifying and communicating with each critical External  Agent
about  its  plan  and progress thereof in addressing the Year  2000  issue.
This process is on schedule and the Managing General Partner, at this time,
believes  that  there  should  be no material  interference  or  disruption
associated with any of the critical External Agent's functions necessary to
the   Partnership's  business.   The  Managing  General  Partner  estimates
completion of this audit by mid-year 1999 and believes that alternate plans
can  be  devised to circumvent any material problems arising from  critical
External Agent noncompliance.

Cost

To  date,  the Managing General Partner has incurred only minimal  internal
man-hour costs for identification, planning, and maintenance.  The Managing
General  Partner believes that the necessary additional costs will also  be
minimal  and most will fall under normal and general maintenance procedures
and updates.  An accurate cost cannot be determined at this time, but it is
expected  that  the total cost to remediate all systems  to  be  less  than
$50,000.

<PAGE>
Risks/Contingency

The  failure to correct critical systems of the Partnership, or the failure
of  a  material business partner or External Agent to resolve critical Year
2000  issues  could  have a serious adverse impact on the  ability  of  the
Partnership  to  continue operations and meet obligations.   Based  on  the
Managing  General  Partner's  evaluation and  assessment  to  date,  it  is
believed  that any interruption in operation will be minor and  short-lived
and  pose no material monetary loss, safety, or environmental risk  to  the
Partnership.   However, until all assessment is complete, it is  impossible
to accurately identify the risks, quantify potential impacts or establish a
final  contingency  plan. The Managing General Partner  believes  that  its
assessment and contingency planning will be complete no later than mid-year
1999.

Worst Case Scenario

The  Securities and Exchange Commission requires that public companies must
forecast the most reasonably likely worst case Year 2000 scenario, assuming
that  the  Managing  General Partner's Year 2000  plan  is  not  effective.
Analysis  of the most reasonably likely worst case Year 2000 scenarios  the
Partnership  may face leads to contemplation of the following possibilities
which,  though  considered  highly  unlikely,  must  be  included  in   any
consideration  of worst cases: widespread failure of electrical,  gas,  and
similar   supplies   by  utilities  serving  the  Partnership;   widespread
disruption  of  the  services of communications  common  carriers;  similar
disruption to means and modes of transportation for the Partnership and its
employees, contractors, suppliers, and customers; significant disruption to
the  Partnership's  ability to gain access to,  and  continue  working  in,
office  buildings  and other facilities; and the failure, of  third-parties
systems,  the  effects  of which would have a cumulative  material  adverse
impact  on  the  Partnership's  critical systems.   The  Partnership  could
experience  an inability by customers, traders, and others  to  pay,  on  a
timely  basis or at all, obligations owed to the Partnership.  Under  these
circumstances, the adverse effect on the Partnership, and the diminution of
Partnership revenues, could be material, although not quantifiable at  this
time.


<PAGE>
                       PART II. - OTHER INFORMATION


Item 1.   Legal Proceedings

          None

Item 2.   Changes in Securities

          None

Item 3.   Defaults Upon Senior Securities

          None

Item 4.   Submission of Matter to a Vote of Security Holders

          None

Item 5.   Other Information

          None

Item 6.   Exhibits and Reports on Form 8-K

          (a)  Exhibits:

               27 Financial Data Schedule

               (b)  Reports on Form 8-K:

                     No  reports on Form 8-K were filed during the  quarter
               for which this report is filed.

<PAGE>
                                SIGNATURES


Pursuant  to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of  1934,  the
registrant  has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf  by  the
undersigned thereunto duly authorized.


                              SOUTHWEST ROYALTIES INSTITUTIONAL
                              INCOME FUND VIII-B, L.P.
                              a Delaware limited partnership


                              By:  Southwest Royalties, Inc.
                                   Managing General Partner


                              By:  /s/ Bill E. Coggin
                                   ------------------------------
                                   Bill E. Coggin, Vice President
                                   and Chief Financial Officer


Date:  May 14, 1999

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