The L1 cell adhesion molecule is involved in cell migration and cell-cell adhesion in the brain. In this report we describe a purification procedure which allowed simultaneous isolation of L1 and the neural cell adhesion molecule. Furthermore, we studied L1 biosynthesis, post-translational modifications and function. L1 was synthesized as a polypeptide with relative molecular weight 200,000 in monolayer cultures of fetal rat neurons and in explant cultures of rat forebrain. The L1 polypeptide was co-translationally inserted into the membranes of the endoplasmic reticulum as an integral membrane protein. Both sulfation and phosphorylation of L1 was observed. L1 polypeptides with lower relative molecular weight which were present on the plasma membrane were probably derived from the 200,000 mol. wt polypeptide. The function of L1 was investigated and an L1 involvement in neurite fasciculation was demonstrated.