More than 40 peptides associated with tachyplesin and polyphemusin, which are highly abundant in hemocyte debris of the horseshoe crabs Tachypleus tridentatus and Limulus polyphemus, were synthesized. Among these peptides, we found that a novel compound, which was called T22 ([Tyr-5,12, Lys-7]polyphemusin II), strongly inhibited the human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1)-induced cytopathic effect and viral antigen expression. Its 50% effective concentration was 0.008 micrograms/ml, while its 50% cytotoxic concentration was 54 micrograms/ml. The anti-HIV activity of T22 was observed with several strains of HIV-1, including zidovudine-resistant strains, and with HIV-2 within the concentration range of 0.006 to 0.071 microgram/ml. T22 efficiently inhibited giant cell formation on the cocultivation of MOLT-4/HIV and MOLT-4 cells but modestly inhibited direct HIV binding. T22 did not inhibit reverse transcriptase activity. A time-of-addition study, which involved monitoring of the appearance of proviral DNA by using the polymerase chain reaction technique, found that T22 exerted its effect on a process, most probably virus-cell fusion or uncoating, immediately after virus adsorption.