Preparations of membrane fractions from 16 yeasts and three moulds were assayed for long-chain fatty alcohol oxidase (FAOD) activities after being grown on hexadecane or glucose and, in nine cases, on oleic acid. The enzyme was usually repressed in glucose-grown cells but in Candida bombicola ATCC 22214 and Debaryomyces hansenii NCYC 33 appeared to be constitutive. Highest activities occurred in C. tropicalis and D. polymorphus (about 0.8 unit/mg protein) grown on hexadecane. Growth of yeasts on oleic acid partially induced FAOD activity but not with the moulds. In two strains of Yarrowia lipolytica (DSM 3286 and CBS 2076) no activity of FAOD was found but this could have been due to the known photo-lability of the enzyme. FAOD from different species shared similar characteristics with respect to substrate specificity and pH optimum.