High-density lipoprotein substrates and products of human plasma lecithin: cholesterol acyltransferase have been labelled with radioisotopic cholesteryl esters in order to facilitate identification. [3H]Cholesteryl esters were formed by endogenous HDL3/VHDL enzyme (d greater than 1.125 g/ml) following incubation with mixed vesicles of phosphatidylcholine, unesterified cholesterol and 3H-labelled unesterified cholesterol. Transfer of labelled esters to acceptor lipoproteins (VLDL+LDL, d less than 1.063 g/ml) was employed to distinguish a hypothetical transfer complex. Separation of labelled HDL3/VHDL was by gel-permeation chromatography. The results indicate that a subpopulation of labelled HDL3/VHDL cholesteryl esters (43-61% of total) were removed by VLDL/LDL during a 3 h transfer period and these derive from the smaller lipoproteins of the spectrum. HDL carrying non-transferable [3H]cholesteryl esters localize to the larger HDL3. Transfer rates were proportional to ratios of acceptor to donor lipoproteins. Net transfer of cholesteryl esters from the smaller HDL3 also occurred, but was smaller in magnitude (about 10.5% of total). Acyltransferase assays indicated that enzyme distribution is skewed to larger-sized HDL3, suggesting that the non-transferable components might be lecithin: cholesterol acyltransferase-containing parent complexes, while the smaller transfer products contain little acyltransferase. The results fit the hypothesis that a parent HDL3-lecithin: cholesterol acyltransferase complex generates a smaller-sized lipoprotein product which is active in cholesteryl ester transport.