1. The quantitative urinary excretion of the sulphate and glucuronide metabolites of 15 substituted phenols dosed to rat has been determined using high resolution 19F-nmr spectroscopy. 2. The urinary metabolic fate of each of the compounds was related to a series of calculated physicochemical properties for each compound to produce quantitative structure-metabolism relationships (QSMRs). Using these calculated molecular properties it was possible to predict the urinary recovery of xenobiotic material as a percentage of the administered dose, to classify the compounds according to their 'dominant' metabolite pattern and to predict quantitatively the proportions of glucuronide and sulphate conjugates in the urine by the use of multiple linear regression. 3. The quantitative predictions were tested by cross-validation and good prediction of total xenobiotic urinary recovery as a percentage of the administered dose was achieved based on an equation involving the electrophilic superdelocalizability at C4 (para to the hydroxyl function), the smallest principal ellipsoid axis dimension and the heat of formation. The largest moment of inertia and the electrophilic superdelocalizability at C3 were found to be the most significant factors for the prediction of the percentage glucuronide in the urine, and the urinary excretion of sulphate conjugates as a percentage of total urinary recovery was negatively correlated with the glucuronide excretion as little parent compound was excreted.