A new method is described for the determination of submicromolar concentrations of 5-bromodeoxyuridine in human plasma. Sample pretreatment involves cold methanol deproteinization, freezing-thawing and lyophilization. The sample is then analysed by reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography. This method is very reproducible and has a detection limit of 0.1 microgram/ml (0.32.10(-6) M). Comparison with other procedures indicates that the method is advantageous as regards sensitivity and specificity and can be readily applied in clinical pharmacological investigations.