Humans are continuously exposed to naturally occurring and industrial xenobiotics in their daily lives. Heterocyclic amines, which are formed during the cooking of proteinaceous foods, have been categorized as a new class of naturally occurring xenobiotics. They are divided into 2-amino-3-methylimidazo[4,5-f] quinoline (IQ)- and non-IQ-types. The amounts and proportion of total mutagenicity contributed by the IQ-type heterocyclic amines in cooked food are greater than those of the non-IQ-types. Precursors of the IQ-type heterocyclic amines including IQ, 2-amino-3,8-dimethylimidazo[4,5-f]quinoxaline (MeIQx) and 2-amino-1-methyl-6-phenylimidazo[4,5-b]pyridine (PhIP) are creatinine, amino acids and sugars in meat and fish. Both types of heterocyclic amines are carcinogenic in mice and rats. All heterocyclic amines except PhIP frequently induce cancers in the liver, while PhIP induces lymphomas in mice and carcinomas of the colon and mammary gland in rats. Based on quantitative analysis of heterocyclic amines in cooked food and levels of excretion of unchanged heterocyclic amines in human urine, total heterocyclic amine intake was calculated to be around 0.4-16 micrograms/person per day. As in the case of other naturally occurring xenobiotics, and degree of exposure is small and is presumably insufficient alone to account for the development of human cancer. Nevertheless, a linear relationship has been demonstrated between DNA adduct levels and a wide range of doses of MeIQx in animals. In addition, combined treatment with five heterocyclic amines yielded additive or synergistic effects in the development of glutathione S-transferase placental form (GST-P) positive foci. Taking these results and current observations of multiple genetic alterations in human cancers into consideration together, heterocyclic amines are probably involved in the development of human cancer in the presence of other carcinogens, tumor promoters and factors stimulating cancer progression.