A hospital based case-control study was carried out in Lyon with the aim of assessing the association between haematologic malignancies and occupational exposures to 320 compounds. Job histories were obtained by questionnaire for 118 cases (52 non Hodgkin lymphomas, 48 acute myeloid leukemia, 18 others leukaemias), and 118 controls with diseases other than cancer from the same general hospital; controls were matched for sex, age and nationality. Systematic coding of exposures based on a blind analysis of job histories, was done by a team of experts in chemistry and occupational health. Mantel-Haenszel analysis was performed. Significantly elevated odds-ratio were observed for non Hodgkin lymphomas and exposure to mineral oils (14.86; 2.76-80.0), excavation dusts (3.91; 0.94-15.95), alkali compounds (2.90; 1.09-7.68), inks (2.47; 1.09-5.17). For inks, a dose-response relation was observed. Elevated odds-ratios appeared for acute myeloid leukaemias and arsenic compounds (3.02; 0.90-10.13) and lead compounds (3.70; 1.09-13.44). When regarding industrial activities, two of them are more frequently found: food industries (14 cases/5 controls), public works (12 cases/0 control). When regarding jobs, winding (6 cases/0 control), glass workers (8 cases/1 control) and warehousemen (10 cases and 4 controls) are more often seen among cases.