A detailed study of all the major chromatographic variables affecting the retention behaviour and separation of myo-inositol phosphates in reversed-phase ion-pair chromatographic systems was carried out. The parameters studied included the eluent concentration of the pairing ion, the eluent concentration of the organic modifier and the buffer salt, the pH of the eluent, the minimum column plate count necessary for the separation of the inositol trisphosphate isomers and isocratic and gradient modes of separation. The retention behaviour of some common nucleotides and sugar phosphates was also investigated as these phosphates present chromatographic interference problems in biochemical studies based on the cellular incorporation of [32P]Pi. The separation methods developed appear to be superior to established anion-exchange separation techniques in terms of separation speed and "mildness" of the chromatographic conditions.