For a 28-d experimental period, rats were fed a nonpurified, cereal-based diet containing 9.1% supplemental beef tallow or fish oil or one of the following beef tallow:fish oil blends: 95:5; 90:10; 80:20 and 50:50. All diets provided between 21.3 and 22.7 g linoleic acid/kg. Higher fish oil intake was paralleled by elevated incorporation of long-chain (n-3) fatty acids in plasma total lipid, mainly at the expense of arachidonic acid. Significant inverse relationships were found between plasma total (n-3) fatty acid concentration and plasma triglyceride, cholesterol or free fatty acid concentrations. Fish oil intake did not lead to a shift of triglycerides or cholesterol from the plasma to the tissues (liver, heart, kidneys). Reduced plasma cholesterol concentrations in the fish oil-fed rats could not be explained by higher fecal excretion of neutral sterols and bile acids. In vivo lipid peroxidation, assessed by urinary malondialdehyde excretion, was enhanced when diets containing greater than 1.8% fish oil were fed.