ES-20 was isolated from male mouse kidney and purified 350-fold by ion-exchange chromatography, isoelectric focusing, and gel filtration. The resultant product was apparently homogeneous by the criteria of polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and immunodiffusion and represented a major fraction of male mouse kidney esterase. Sodium dodecyl sulfate gel electrophoresis revealed the presence of a single subunit band, molecular weight 59,500; the molecular weight of the native protein was found to be 179,000. Titration of the active site yielded an equivalent weight of about 175,000. The enzyme was further characterized by its kinetic parameters for the hydrolysis of a series of 4-nitrophenyl esters and was classified as a carboxylesterase (EC 3.1.1.1). ES-20C1 bound to concanavalin A, indicating that it was a high-mannose-type glycoprotein; the role of terminal beta-N-acetylglucosamine residues in the carbohydrate side chains for stabilization of the quaternary structure of the trimer was revealed. Extensive biochemical and immunological similarities to ES-9C supported an earlier suggestion that the Es-9c gene product is a component of the ES-20C1 trimer.