Imipenem combined with cilastatin and meropenem was given as intravenous infusions of 1 g to eight young, healthy males on two separate occasions. Blood and urine samples were collected for up to 12 h. The terminal half-lives in plasma were 0.98 h and 1.11 h for meropenem and imipenem, respectively. The volume of distribution was smaller for meropenem than for imipenem (12.5 l and 14.4 l, respectively). The plasma clearance for meropenem was 188 (SD 31) ml/min and for imipenem 183 (SD 25) ml/min. Renal clearance was on average 139 (SD 24) ml/min and 135 (SD 11) ml/min, respectively. About 75% of the administered dose of both compounds was eliminated unchanged in urine. Non-renal clearance accounted for approximately 25% of the total clearance for both drugs. The kinetics of meropenem are very similar to those of imipenem given with cilastatin, and meropenem is as stable against renal metabolic degradation as imipenem combined with cilastatin.