The retinoblastoma protein (pRB) is thought to act as a tumour suppressor which is inactivated by phosphorylation. In quiescent (G0) cells pRB exists in a hypophosphorylated form (pRB110), but proliferating cells in G1 contain a significant proportion of phosphorylated pRB (pRB112-114). Studies of synchronized or elutriated cells have suggested that the phosphorylated forms of pRB disappear as cells pass from G2/M to G0/G1 and that pRB is phosphorylated again to pRB114 at the G1/S border. In this study we used two-parameter flow cytometry and cell sorting to isolate cycling cells in early and late G1 (G1A and G1B), and we show that partially phosphorylated pRB is present in cycling human lymphoid cells even in G1A. These G1A cells contain intermediate forms of pRB which become further phosphorylated to pRB112-114 as cells pass into G1B. Therefore pRB is at least partially phosphorylated from early G1 onwards. Cell cycle arrest by alpha-interferon (alpha-IFN) results in an accumulation of cells in both G1A and G1B, and these cells contain mainly pRB110. Since pRB110 is thought to prevent cell proliferation, the cytostatic effect of alpha-IFN may therefore occur by preventing the initial phosphorylation of pRB during or prior to G1A.