SUMMARYA total of 279 Vibrio anguillarum strains were serotyped and examined for plasmid content. Plasmids were subjected to digestion with restriction enzymes. Most strains belonged to serogroup 01 (39%) and 02 (16%). In total 164 strains (53%) carried plasmids. Of the 01 and 02 isolates, 92 % and 30%, respectively, carried one or more plasmids. Restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) analysis of plasmid DNA indicated that plasmids belonged to several groups. Each group seemed to be restricted to a single 0-serovar. The largest group was the pJM1-like plasmids among most serovar 01 strains. Most of these plasmids were about 67 kb like the pJM1 plasmid, but various derivatives ranged from 26-77 kb. RFLP studies of the 67 kb plasmids revealed 17 different restriction patterns. Some patterns were dominant among European strains whereas others were dominant among North American strains. The results confirmed the applicability of 0-serotyping together with plasmid profile and restriction analysis of plasmids for typing of V. anguillarum. They also indicated that plasmids among strains which belonged to the traditional fish pathogenic serogroups, 01 and 02, showed more homology than did strains from most other serogroups, that were usually non-pathogenic, environmental bacteria.