Direct immunofluorescent staining revealed bound immunoglobulins and complement at the dermal-epidermal junction of involved skin in ten of ten patients studied with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and 15 of 16 patients with discoid lupus erythematosus (DLE). Positive results were also obtained in four of eight biopsies of uninvolved skin in SLE; 42 cases of miscellaneous dermatoses were similarly studied with one positive result in scleroderma. Circulating antibodies for the dermal-epidermal junction were not detected by indirect immunofluorescent techniques. The pattern of immunofluorescent stains can best be attributed to an antigen-antibody process in the tissue.