It was reported that unsaturated long chain fatty acids, such as arachidonic acid, oleic acid and docosahexaenoic acid inhibit the binding between progesterone and estrogen receptors and steroid hormones. Most of the long chain fatty acids are contained in phospholipids within the cells. The effect of phospholipids on the binding between R5020 and progesterone receptors was studied. Phosphatidyl ethanolamine and sphingomyelin had no effect on binding, but phosphatidyl inositol and phosphatidyl serine inhibited the binding 53% and 34% respectively. The effect of phosphatidyl inositol on the binding between R5020 and progesterone receptors was dose dependent. Scatchard analysis revealed that the addition of phospholipid markedly decreased the number of binding sites from 1398fmol/mgp to 258fmol/mgp, but the dissociation constant was little affected.