The degradation of desmin was studied in postmortem white dorsal muscle from sea bass, brown trout, turbot and sardine, stored at 0-4°C. Based on desmin specific antibody tests, results showed that the extent and rate of desmin degradation in postmortem fish muscle varied considerably among species. There was no degradation of desmin during the first 4 days postmortem storage of sea bass and brown trout, whereas 10 to 20% of muscle desmin was degraded during the first 4 days of postmortem storage of turbot. Sardine muscle presented a very complex pattern of desmin degradation products and aggregated desmin fragments detected within the first 24h. Most polypeptides were larger than the nondenatured desmin. Desmin degradation would not be a suitable marker for evaluation of postmortem changes of stored fish.