Human erythroid progenitors from fetal liver, cord or adult blood and adult marrow were cultured in methylcellulose, according to standard techniques. Their clonogenetic features (colony morphology and number, time/growth curve, erythropoietin (Ep) and burst-enhancing factor (BEF) sensitivity, in vitro 3H-thymidine suicide index, etc) were comparatively investigated. Three classes of fetal liver erythroid progenitors (primitive or intermediate BFU-E, CFU-E) have been thereby identified and characterized. Furthermore, globin chains (alpha, beta, G gamma, A gamma) synthesis has been evaluated in single erythroid colonies, either well-or poorly-hemoglobinized, by means of a novel technique including analytical iso-electric focusing (IEF), sometimes preceded by preparative IEF separation of HbF and HbA. On the basis of these results, a model for the regulation of Hb synthesis is proposed here.