The effect of bile acids on the activity of liver alcohol dehydrogenase (L-ADH, EC 1.1.1.1) from different mammalian organisms is species dependent. 2. The kinetic behaviour of purified L-ADH from rat and rabbit liver in presence of deoxycholic acid and with ethanol as substrate shows two rather different patterns: for rabbit enzyme deoxycholic acid acts as a full competitive inhibitor, while for rat enzyme an activation effect is observed, with an increase of both Km and Vmax. Similar patterns are obtained with the steroid substrate 3 beta-hydroxy-5 beta-androstane-17one. 3. These results show that in some species, including man, L-ADH activity can be regulated by bile acids, that could control both ethanol oxidation and their own biosynthesis since L-ADH is involved in both metabolic pathways in liver cell.