Plasma triglyceride, nonesterified fatty acid (NEFA), glycerol, insulin and blood glucose concentrations were measured in 32 small for gestational age (SGA) and 54 appropriate for gestational age fetuses. Although the values of plasma NEFA and glycerol concentrations were not different in the two groups, some SGA fetuses were hypertriglyceridemic, hypoglycemic and hypoinsulinemic. These findings suggest that hypertriglyceridemia in hypoxemic SGA fetuses is not due to lipolysis, nor to increased triglyceride synthesis, but rather to impaired utilization of circulating triglycerides.