Coagulation studies were performed in 61 patients of acute infective hepatitis. 18 with clinical signs of liver failure had bleeding and all succumbed. The 47 patients without liver failure showed no haemorrhagic diathesis and all of them had uneventful recovery. Though coagulopathy was present in most of the patients, the severity and frequency of coagulation defects were more in those with signs of hepatic failure. Hypofibrinogenemia, elevated serum fibrinogen degradation products and accelerated euglobulin lysis were conspicuous in patients with hepatic failure. It appears that while diminished synthesis of coagulation factors is the main basis for coagulopathy in patients without hepatic failure, additional factors like local or disseminated intravascular coagulation and increased fibrinolysis also contribute significantly to the coagulopathy in cases of liver failure.