Three polysaccharides, two heteroglycans (PL-1 and PL-4) and one glucan (PL-3), were solubilized from the fruit bodies of Ganoderma lucidum and isolated by anion-exchange and gel-filtration chromatography. Their structural features were elucidated by glycosyl residue and glycosyl linkage composition analyses, partial acid hydrolysis, acetolysis, periodate oxidation, 1D and 2D NMR spectroscopy, and ESI-MS experiments. The data obtained indicated that PL-1 had a backbone consisting of 1,4-linked alpha-D-glucopyranosyl residues and 1,6-linked beta-D-galactopyranosyl residues with branches at O-6 of glucose residues and O-2 of galactose residues, composed of terminal glucose, 1,6-linked glucosyl residues and terminal rhamnose. PL-3 was a highly branched glucan composed of 1,3-linked beta-D-glucopyranosyl residues substituted at O-6 with 1,6-linked glucosyl residues. PL-4 was comprised of 1,3-, 1,4-, 1,6-linked beta-D-glucopyranosyl residues and 1,6-linked beta-D-mannopyranosyl residues. These polysaccharides enhanced the proliferation of T- and B-lymphocytes in vitro to varying contents and PL-1 exhibited an immune-stimulating activity in mice.