OBJECTIVE To determine predictors of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL) and triglyceride (TG) concentrations in postmenopausal women. METHODS Cross-sectional study. METHODS Clinical research facility. METHODS One hundred twenty-seven healthy, relatively sedentary, postmenopausal women not on estrogen replacement, mean age 57 years. METHODS Alcohol intake, cigarette smoking, aerobic fitness (VO2max), body mass index (BMI), percent body fat, waist-hip ratio, lipids and lipoproteins, fasting plasma glucose (FPG), and insulin (FPI) concentrations. RESULTS In univariate analyses, HDL was significantly (P < 0.05) inversely related to BMI, waist-hip ratio, smoking, FPG, and FPI, and directly related to VO2max and alcohol intake. Triglycerides were related directly to BMI, waist-hip ratio, percent body fat, FPG, and FPI, and inversely to VO2max. In stepwise multiple regressions, BMI, waist-hip ratio, alcohol, smoking, and FPG were significantly associated with HDL (R2 for the model = 0.43). Addition of TG to these models reduced relations of BMI and waist-hip ratio, but not the other variables, to insignificance. For triglycerides, waist-hip ratio, alcohol, smoking, FPG, and FPI were significant predictors (R2 = 0.33). VO2max and percent body fat did not contribute to any model. CONCLUSIONS Obesity, abdominal obesity, smoking, alcohol intake, and measures of carbohydrate metabolism predict HDL and triglyceride concentrations in postmenopausal women.