The osmotolerant yeast Debaryomces hansenii is highly resistant to dehydration stress and this tolerance was more pronounced for cells taken from the exponential growth phase than from the stationary phase. Growth of D. hansenii in medium containing 10% (w v (1)) NaCl, resulted in an additional increase in cellular resistance to dehydration, which was most marked for stationary phase cells. It is expected that further investigations of the mechanisms behind this exceptional dehydrational tolerance will reveal new approaches for improvement of the quality of dry yeast.