OBJECTIVE To compare the distribution of subcutaneous adipose tissue (SAT) in adolescent girls from four ethnic groups. METHODS The cross-sectional sample included 498 American adolescent girls from four ethnic groups: Mexican (n = 327), European (White, n = 81), Asian (n = 63, all except two Filipino), and African (Black, n = 27). Ages ranged from 11 to 18 years, but 98% of the sample was 12 to 17 years of age. METHODS Body mass, stature and four skinfolds were measured on each girl by a single observer. Three ratios of SAT distribution were derived: the ratio of the sum of the two T (subscapular + suprailiac) to the sum of the two E (triceps + medial calf) skinfolds (T/E ratio); the ratio of the two T to the sum of four skinfolds (T/SUM ratio); and the ratio of the subscapular to the triceps skinfolds (S/T ratio). Principal components analysis was also used to evaluate SAT distribution. RESULTS Adolescent girls in the four ethnic groups differed significantly in the three skinfold ratios and in the first principal component, which contrasted trunk and extremity skinfolds. The sequence from proportionally more to proportionally less trunk SAT was as follows: Asian > Mexican > White > Black. Two other principal components were identified, one contrasting the upper and lower extremity skinfolds and the other contrasting the upper and lower trunk skinfolds, but ethnic differences in these two components were not significant.