Diazinon is one of the most widely used organophosphate insecticides (OPI) in agriculture and public health programs. The aim of this study was to investigate how an OPI, diazinon, affects lipid peroxidation (LPO) and the antioxidant defense system in vitro. For this purpose, two experiments were carried out. In experiment 1, the effects of various concentrations of diazinon on LPO and the activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) and catalase (CAT) in erythrocytes were studied. Each diazinon concentration was incubated with a previously prepared erythrocyte samples at +4 degrees C for 0, 60 and 180 min. After incubation, the malondialdehyde (MDA) levels and the activities of SOD, GSH-Px and CAT were determined. In experiment 2, in order to determine the direct effect of diazinon on the activities of SOD, GSH-Px and CAT, the erythrocytes were haemolysed and incubated with the various concentrations of diazinon at +4 degrees C for 0, 60 and 180 min. In experiment 1, MDA levels and the activities of SOD and GSH-Px increased with increasing diazinon concentration and incubation period, but CAT activity remained unchanged. In experiment 2, SOD activity was significantly decreased, and GSH-Px activity was significantly increased. From these results, it can be concluded that in vitro administration of diazinon results in the induction of erythrocyte LPO and changes the activities of antioxidant enzymes, suggesting that reactive oxygen species may be involved in the toxic effects of diazinon.