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Plasma fibrinogen concentration is becoming widely accepted as a risk factor for cardio- and cerebrovascular disease. In order to evaluate its age- dependency, plasma fibrinogen and several other blood components were determined in 156 persons (23–96 years). In 116 participants, living on their own and rating themselves as healthy, fibrinogen increased by 26 mg/dL and decade. After exclusion of persons with pathological laboratory findings and risk factors, fibrinogen still rose by 25 mg/dL per decade, thereby reaching concentrations above 320 mg/dL in 81% of those older than 65 years. In prospective studies, these values were found to be associated with an augmented cardio- and cerebrovascular risk. In this investigation, the age- dependent rise of fibrinogen was more pronounced than that of blood glucose or cholesterol. Increasing fibrinogen may reflect a multitude of processes, such as (occult) acute phase reactions, risk factors, subclinical degeneration of vascular endothelium, or a more frequent activation of coagulation and fibrinolysis, with interleukin 6 (IL- 6) as a possible mediator. (Aging Clin. Exp. Res. 6: 133- 138, 1994)