The lipid composition of human liver microsomes isolated from liver biopsy samples obtained at abdominal surgery has been determined. Human liver microsomal phospholipid is composed of 49% phosphatidylcholine, 31% phosphatidylethanolamine, 14% phosphatidylserine + phosphatidylinositol and 6% sphingomyelin, very similar to the phospholipid composition of rat liver microsomes. The fatty acid composition of human liver microsomes is remarkable only for its content of polyunsaturated fatty acids, with 20% of the fatty acids consisting of arachidonic, docosatetraenoic, docosapentaenoic and docosahexaenoic acids. This value contrasts with 33% in rats and 9% in rabbits. The molar cholesterol/phospholipid ratio in human liver microsomes is 0.069, similar to the ratio in rat and rabbit microsomes.