Sperm carbohydrate binding activity is involved in gamete recognition. We identified a human sperm protein extracted under reducing conditions, and with a molecular mass of 65 kDa on sodium dodecyl sulphate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE), and which binds D-mannose coupled to albumin (DMA) in presence of cations and a neutral pH. Epifluorescence microscopy showed that fluorescein-DMA binds to dead or permeabilized sperm heads. The DMA-binding activity of human sperm heads was highly specific for a polysaccharide structure containing charged sugar residues. After capacitation, or induction of the acrosome reaction using solubilized zonae pellucidae, fluorescein-DMA was bound respectively to 10.3% (+/- 3.5%) and to 37.6% (+/- 2.1%) of viable sperm heads. The sequential analysis of viable spermatozoa for fluorescein-DMA binding and for rhodamine-Pisum sativum agglutinin binding, showed that DMA-binding sites are present in viable acrosome-reacted spermatozoa. Three dimensional analysis of fluorescence and ultrastructural studies showed that DMA-binding sites are mostly restricted to the sub-acrosomal space of the equatorial segment. Incubation of spermatozoa and zona-free hamster eggs in the presence of DMA was associated with a dose-dependent significant reduction in the number of spermatozoa bound to the oolemma, compared with a control, and to a dose-dependent inhibition of oocyte penetration. This effect was highly specific for DMA, suggesting that DMA-binding sites in human spermatozoa are involved in sperm-egg fusion.