Effect of ethanol pretreatment on acute hepatotoxicity and hepatic fat accumulation induced by aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) was followed up to 120 h in male Wistar rats. Pretreatment with 4 oral doses of ethanol (4.0 g/kg body wt. each) at 48, 45, 24 and 21 h prior to AFB1 (2.0 mg/kg body wt.) single intraperitoneal administration caused a significant increase in the activity of plasma glutamic oxaloacetic transaminase (PGOT, 2.4-fold), plasma glutamic pyruvic transaminase (PGPT, 2.8-fold), liver triglycerides (2.3-fold) and the severity of liver necrosis at 72 h after AFB1 administration. The effect of ethanol pretreatment on an increase in the accumulation of liver cholesterol and cholesterol esters induced by AFB1 is additive in nature. In a time-course study, it was shown that liver necrosis and triglyceride, cholesterol and cholesterol ester accumulation occurred simultaneously in both groups of rats treated with AFB1 and ethanol-AFB1. These results suggest that fat accumulation per se is not a primary cause of liver necrosis induced by AFB1 and ethanol-AFB1.