Phospholipase A2 from Naja naja naja venom (Indian cobra) undergoes a concentration-dependent aggregation, and at an assay concentration of 1 microgram mL-1, it exists as a monomer. However, there is some evidence that the enzyme is actually active as a dimer or higher order aggregate. Previous attempts to determine the aggregation state of the enzyme under actual assay conditions were thwarted by experimental difficulties due in part to the low enzyme concentrations required. This aggregation has now been studied by using fluorescence polarization. The extrinsic probe fluorescein isothiocyanate was coupled to the enzyme to serve as the fluorescence marker. Steady-state polarization measurements were made to determine changes in the aggregation state of the fluorescently tagged enzyme. The phospholipases A2 from Crotalus adamanteus (rattlesnake) and porcine pancreas, whose states of aggregation are known, were also labeled with fluorescein isothiocyanate and used as controls. It was found that the divalent metal ions Ca2+, a phospholipase cofactor, and Ba2+, an inhibitor, caused an increase in the cobra venom enzyme polarization, while Mn2+, Mg2+, and Co2+ did not. The water-soluble substrate diheptanoylphosphatidylcholine and the lipid analogue dodecylphosphocholine, when present below their respective critical micelle concentrations, also increased the polarization of the phospholipase-fluorescein conjugate. Thus, both cofactor and substrate caused an increase in the polarization, which implies an increase in the aggregation state. It is concluded that under assay conditions the phospholipase A2 exists in an aggregated form.