The interaction of pentoxifylline and other xanthine derivatives with human erythrocyte ghosts was studied. By fluorescence spectroscopy it was found that xanthine derivatives have two modes of binding to erythrocyte ghosts. One is a high-capacity binding to erythrocyte membranes. It seems that the 5-oxohexyl side chain of pentoxifylline is important for this. The second type may be a binding to proteins on the membranes and is specific for pentoxifylline and caffeine. From the circular dichroism spectra, it was presumed that the second binding mode of pentoxifylline occurs at hydrophobic regions of beta-structure of the membrane proteins. The relative high specificity in the interaction of pentoxifylline with erythrocytes should be related to its unique physiological activity on erythrocytes.