SummaryThe use of HPTLC in the analysis of some sixteen-membered ring macrolide antibiotices was examined. In the case of Spiramycins, instrumentalized HPTLC proved to be very efficient for the separation and determination of these antibiotics. With the use of an internal standard together with the datapair technique in sampling and evaluation of the HPTLC plates, a coefficient of variation less than 1.5% could be achieved when determining the different Spiramycins. Other sixteenmembered macrolides, such as Tylosins, Turimycins and 9-Propionylmaridomycins can be separated with sufficient resolution for quantitative work, in spite of their extremely simular structures and large molecular weights. Detection is always at wavelengths which agree with the intrinsic absorption maximum of the chromophors of the components (e. g. 282 nm for Tylosins, 232 nm for Spiramycins and Turimycins, 195 nm for 9-Propionylmaridomycins).