Fatty-acid-binding proteins (FABPs) are known as cytosolic binding sites for fatty acids and their CoA esters. Radioactively labeled and fluorescent fatty acids were used to locate and identify these proteins in bovine liver cytosol. The occurrence of two species of FABPs was demonstrated and these were designated pI6.0-FABP and pI7.0-FABP according to their isoelectric points in the delipidated state. Oleic acid/FABP binding ratios were 1 with pI6.0-FABP and 2 with pI7.0-FABP. Upon binding of oleic acid the isoelectric points of liganded FABPs shifted to pH 5.0-5.1 in each case. Both proteins were purified by removing nonbinding proteins by acid and heat denaturation and subsequent gel filtration. By making use of the pI shifts observed upon lipidation and delipidation of the binding proteins with ligand fatty acids, final purification was achieved in two fractionations by isoelectric focusing. The binding proteins (Mr 11 800 +/- 1 000) had similar amino-acid compositions (no Trp) and were not covalently modified by carbohydrate and fatty acid. Fatty acids and their CoA esters were complexed by either FABP, cholesterol only by pI-7.0-FABP, though non-stoichiometrically. 16-(9-Anthroyloxy)palmitic acid was bound by pI-7.0-FABP in a 1:1 ratio and precluded the additional binding of a straight-chain fatty acid. Electrophoretic titration curves indicated dissociation of the oleic acid/pI7.0-FABP complex below pH 5.0. It appears that fatty acids and their CoA esters are the foremost binding partners of FABPs in vivo. The results are discussed in terms of a single binding site for fatty acids per molecule FABP.