In the present study, effects of leukotrienes on IL-6 production by mouse resident peritoneal macrophages were explored with a bioassay method involving IL-6 dependent murine hybridoma B9 cell line. The results showed that LTB4, LTC4 and LTD4 can enhance the production of IL-6 from cultured peritoneal macrophages of mice. The optimal concentractions for LTB4, LTC4 and LTD4 were found to be 1.45 x 10(-6), 6.9 x 10(-8) and 8.05 x 10(-8) mol.L-1, respectively. The results suggest that peptide leukotrienes might play important role on IL-6 production in the local milieu of inflammation.