The alkaline hydrolysis products of skin surface fat of normal rat have been analyzed in detail by combination of thin-layer chromatography and gas-liquid chromatography. Homologue series of C14-C34 straight and branched chain saturated as well as straight chain unsaturated fatty acids and aliphatic mono-hydric alcohols with maximum concentrations at C20:1 and C24:1, respectively, are present. There are also smaller amounts of mono-hydroxy fatty acids and alkane diols with C16-compounds as the major components. In addition to cholesterol as the chief representant, also other sterols are found and tentatively identified as lanosterol, agno-sterol, methosterol, desmosterol and lathosterol.