The main polysaccharidic fractions extracted with 1M NaOH from cell wall material of four different strains of Paecilomyces variotii were characterized as an alpha-(1 --> 3)-glucan (F1I) amounting from 33.2 to 39.1% and a beta-glucan-chitin complex (F4) representing from 42.7 to 47.3%. The water-soluble fraction, F1S, was composed of mannose, glucose, and mainly galactose in all the strains studied. The F1S fractions of the four strains were analyzed by NMR spectroscopy showing analogous structural features in all the strains. This fraction was purified through Sepharose CL-GB and methylated. The purified material (F1S-B) mainly contained (1 --> 6)- and (1 --> 2,6)-linked mannopyranose, (1 --> 5)- and (1 --> 6)-linked galactofuranose, and terminal residues of glucopyranose and galactofuranose. The proportion, the chemical composition, and the structure of each fraction revealed a homogeneous cell wall composition in these strains.