An extracellular myeloperoxidase precursor of HL-60 cells was purified from the culture supernatant by ammonium sulfate precipitation, DEAE-Sepharose chromatography, and monoclonal antibody affinity chromatography. The purified protein was a glycoprotein of approximately 89 kDa as determined by sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The amino-terminal amino acid sequence of the protein began at amino acid residue 49 of the 745-amino acid sequence deduced from a myeloperoxidase cDNA, suggesting that the protein consisted of 697 amino acid residues. The implications of the precursor in the processing of myeloperoxidase are discussed.