The apoenzyme and holoenzyme structures of liver alcohol dehydrogenase have been determined by X-ray methods to obtain details about coenzyme binding, substrate specificity and the catalytic mechanism. Coenzyme binding induces a conformational change of the protein which partly shields the active site from the solution. The reduced coenzyme binds in an open conformation similar to that of NAD bound to malate dehydrogenase. A hydrogen bond between Thr-178 and the carboxamide group of the coenzyme is essential for proper positioning of the nicotinamide in the active site. Coenzyme analogues in which the carboxamide group is absent or substituted with iodine bind in a different conformation and do not induce the structural change of the protein. Binding of substrate molecules has been studied in crystals obtained from an equilibrium mixture of enzyme, coenzyme and p-bromobenzyl alcohol. The oxygen atom of this substrate as well as that of the inhibitor molecules trifluoroethanol and dimethyl sulphoxide bind directly to the catalytic zinc atom. The substrate-binding region is a deep hydrophobic pocket at the bottom of which the zinc atom mediates electrophilic catalysis of alcohol oxidation.