The mass spectral fragmentation patterns of some pyrimidine and adenine nucleosides modified in a carbohydrate moiety have been investigated. The position of the chlorine atom in a carbohydrate moiety is characterized in the mass spectrum by the following peaks. In the case of pyrimidine nucleosides the location of the chlorine atom at C‐3′ leads as a general fragmentation pathway to a loss of a Cl radical to yield ion a, which further decomposes into ions h, n and j having the composition base plus 30,68 and 56 mass units, respectively. The location of the chlorine atom at C‐2′ involves initial elimination of HCI to form the ion(s) p which are transformed into the characteristic O2,2′‐cyclo ion r. The latter is one of the most abundant ions in the mass spectra of O2,2′‐cyclonuleosides. In the case of adenine chlorodeoxynucleosides the principal fragmentation routes from the molecular ion involve (i) a loss of a Cl radical and, further, the elements of H2O and formaldehyde 5′‐CH2O result in the formation of the characteristic Ion n (b+68mass units); (ii) a reverse sequence of transformations of the molecular ion leading to ion n. An intense ion d containing a C‐1′–C‐2′ fragment of the carbohydrate ring with a substituent at C‐2′is of considerable interest in elucidating the isomeric structure of the adenine chlorodeoxynucleosides. The same ion d is informative in establishing the isomeric structure of adenine 2′,3′‐ and 3′,5′‐anhydronucleosides.