A kinematical study of rapidly oscillating Ap (roAp) stars and of a sa
mple of apparently similar Ap stars that show no pulsation is performe
d, with a view to investigating possible differences between the two g
roups. The mean absolute magnitudes of the stars of both samples, deri
ved through the mean parallax method, are at most marginally different
. From the consideration of the velocity ellipsoid parameters and of t
he mean orbital elements characterizing their motion in the Galaxy, th
e roAp stars appear significantly older than their non-pulsating count
erparts.