We have purified recombinant human granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (hGM-CSF) produced in human lymphoblastoid Namalwa cells. From the results of tunicamycin treatment and N-glycosidase F digestion, it was demonstrated that Namalwa-derived hGM-CSF was highly glycosylated at two potential N-glycosylation sites and several O-glycosylation sites as previously shown for naturally occurring hGM-CSF. We classified the hGM-CSF molecules into three groups according to the molecular weight corresponding to the degree of N-glycosylation: the molecules with two N-glycosylation sites occupied (designated 2N), the molecules with either site glycosylated (1N), and the molecules lacking N-glycosylation (0N). Despite such varied degrees of N-glycosylation, almost all molecules were O-glycosylated. To investigate the role of carbohydrate moieties of hGM-CSF, we isolated each form of hGM-CSF and examined its biological properties. The 2N-type showed 200-fold less in vitro specific activity compared with unglycosylated Escherichia coli-derived hGM-CSF, although the activity of the 0N-type was equivalent to that of the E. coli-derived material. The 1N-type showed an intermediate level of activity. However, in terms of clearance from blood circulation in the rat, the 2N-type showed a half-life five times longer than that of the 0N-type and E. coli-derived hGM-CSF. From these findings, we concluded that N-linked carbohydrate moieties of hGM-CSF play conflicting physiological roles in the efficacy of the protein in vivo but that O-linked carbohydrate moieties do not have such effects.