Two-dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis has been used to compare the Nonidet P-40 soluble, [3H]glucosamine-labeled glycoproteins of human kidney cancer cell lines and short-term cultures of normal kidney epithelia. Two pairs of autologous combinations of tumor and normal cells and also six other cancer lines and four normal cultures were examined. Because autologous cells could be compared, possible differences due to allogeneic variations could be eliminated. The electrophoretic patterns given by tumor and normal cells were extremely similar. Nevertheless, more than 10 differences could be recognized when randomly selected combinations of cancer and normal cells were examined in detail. Of these differences, however, only one was consistently found in all possible combinations of cancer and normal cells. Cancer cells had three prominent components of molecular weight 27,500 and pIs of 5.7, 5.3, and 4.9, respectively. Normal cells have a fainter and different constellation of spots in this region, with the more acid component (pI 4.9) being absent (or barely detectable). The pattern of fetal kidney cells resembled that given by normal adult kidney.