Post-prandial lipaemia was investigated in a group of nine subjects with nephrotic syndrome by following the concentrations of triglyceride and retinyl palmitate in the d < 1.006 g ml-1 fraction of plasma after a standard oral fat load containing vitamin A. Lipoprotein lipase and hepatic triglyceride lipase activities were measured in post-heparin plasma. Subjects with other renal disease but insignificant proteinuria acted as controls. The time course of the lipaemic response was similar in both groups although individual patients demonstrated a prolonged lipaemia. Overall, there were no significant differences in the rise in triglyceride at 6 h (nephrotic--median 2.53 mmol l-1; range 0.87-4.76 vs. control 1.88; 0.38-4.12, P = 0.34), the peak concentration of retinyl palmitate (nephrotic 0.87 mg dl-1; 0.27-2.16 vs. control 0.65; 0.24-1.89, P = 0.97) or the areas under the curve from 0-24 h for triglyceride (nephrotic 10.5 mmol. h l-1; 2.9-43.6 vs. control 9.7; 4.3-27.0, P = 1.0) or retinyl palmitate (5.5 mg.h dl-1; 1.0-23.4 vs. 4.3; 1.5-12.4, P = 0.7). At baseline, the particles in the d < 1.006 g ml-1 fraction of plasma from nephrotic subjects had a higher free cholesterol:phospholipid ratio but this difference was no longer apparent 6 h after the test meal. There were no differences in total heparin-releasable lipase, lipoprotein lipase or hepatic triglyceride lipase activities between the two groups. These data suggest that impaired clearance of chylomicrons is not a major contributor to nephrotic hyperlipidaemia in man.