[3H]arachidonic acid (20:4) and [14C]linoleic acid (18:2) were fed in a triolein emulsion to essential fatty acid-deficient (EFAD) rats and to age-matched controls. Tissues were analyzed for radioactivity of different lipid classes after 1, 2, and 4 h. As in earlier studies [Nilsson and Melin. Am. J. Physiol. 255 (Gastrointest. Liver Physiol. 19): G612-G618, 1988], control rats retained more [3H]20:4 than [14C]18:2 in all organs except adipose tissue. In EFAD rats, recovery of [14C]18:2 was increased in small intestine, liver, heart, and kidneys. In comparison to controls, EFAD rats retained much more [14C]18:2 in phospholipids of these organs. The increase in the incorporation of both 3H and 14C into phosphatidylethanolamine was particularly pronounced. Another striking feature was the drastic increase in the retention after 4 h of 14C in cardiolipin, which is specifically located in the inner mitochondrial membrane. In contrast, incorporation of both 3H and 14C into phosphatidylinositol was decreased or unchanged in EFAD rats. Although fecal fat excretion was increased there was no evidence for a malabsorption or an increased retention in intestinal triacyglycerol of the radioactive fatty acids in EFAD rats. The proportion of [14C]18:2 that had been converted to [14C]20:4 was generally low but increased significantly with time in the liver and intestine of EFAD rats.