We show that for a block
Toeplitz operator TG to be hyponormal, there is a matrix analogue of Cowen’s
condition for a scalar hyponormal Toeplitz operator, but an additional condtion,
G∗G = GG∗, is needed. A detailed analysis is given for the hypornormality of
TG if G is a matrix trigomometric polynomial or G satisfies an extremal
condition. Relevant results on kernels of block Hankel operators are also
obtained.