The effect of coprophagy on the 7 alpha-dehydroxylation of biliary bile acids was studied in the rabbit. Bile acid composition of bile and intestinal contents was analyzed by gas-liquid chromatography and thin layer chromatography. Biliary bile acid composition of normal rabbits (n = 5) was: deoxycholic acid, 95.3 +/- 1.0SE % and cholic acid, 2.3 +/- 1.1SE %. When coprophagy was prevented, significant alterations were observed in biliary bile acid composition, including a considerable decrease in deoxycholic acid (82.5 +/- 2.8SE %, p less than 0.01) and a marked increase in cholic acid (15.2 +/- 3.0SE %, p less than 0.002). These results indicate that coprophagy is a factor causing an increase of the 7 alpha-dehydroxylated bile acid, deoxycholic acid (and lithocholic acid when the animals were fed chenodeoxycholic acid) in rabbit bile.