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Summary Haptoglobin types have been determined by starch gel electrophoresis of blood from five populations. The gene frequencies obtained for allele Hp1 were as follows: American whites, 043; American Negroes, 0.59; African Negroes, 0.72; Apaches, 0.59; and Asiatic Indians, 0.18. In tribes of the Ivory Coast and Liberia, there was a suggestion of a cline which parallels that for haemoglobin S. Evidence is presented that the condition of ahaptoglobinemia is under genetic control but not by a gene allelic to the Hp1-Hp2 series. The importance of the ahaptoglobinemic individuals for genetic studies and the possibility of selection in the maintenance of the genetic polymorphism are discussed. The authors wish to acknowledge the excellent assistance of Alojzia Sandor, who carried out the electrophoretic separations.