We examined the clinical and analytical performance of two immunoassays (Becton Dickinson CK-MB; Ciba-Corning Magic Lite CK-MB) in which monoclonal anti-CK-MB antibodies are used for directly measuring creatine kinase (EC 2.7.3.2) isoenzyme MB (CK-MB) in serum, and also one electrophoretic method (Ciba-Corning). Within- and between-assay precision for both immunoassays was good at the upper reference limits (less than 10% CV). Analytical recoveries ranged from 102 to 114%. Both immunoassays were free from interference by CK-BB, mitochondrial-CK, macro-CK, adenylate kinase, and CK-MM. Retrospectively, we evaluated four categories of patients, using both immunoassays and electrophoresis: normal controls, acute myocardial infarction (AMI) patients, severe skeletal muscle trauma patients, and acutely ill patients known not to have AMI. In general, there were excellent correlations among all three methods. CK-MB activity (U/L) measured by the Becton Dickinson immunoassay was approximately 50% of the mass concentration (microgram/L) of the Magic Lite immunoassay and 50% of the activity concentration (U/L) determined by electrophoresis. Both immunoassays were easy to perform and sensitive to the low CK-MB concentrations often found with low total-CK activities.