The synthesis of phosphatidylethanolamine was accomplished when a mixture of phosphatidic acid, ethanolamine, and cyanamide at pH 7.3 was taken to dryness and heated at temperatures ranging from 25 to 60 degrees C for 6 h. Chromatographic, enzymatic, and chemical techniques were used to identify and confirm that phosphatidylethanolamine had been formed. This work indicates that the synthesis of this compound can occur starting with precursors and conditions that are presumed to have existed on the primitive Earth.