Nine monoclonal antibodies directed against DPP IV from rat liver plasma membranes were obtained. They recognized four different epitopes (A, B, C and D) of the enzyme. The epitopes A, B and C were located on the outside of the hepatocyte plasma membrane and were shared by DPP IV from hepatoma plasma membrane and the soluble form. Epitope D appeared to be partly inserted in the membrane and was found exclusively in the liver. Epitopes A, B and C and DPP IV revealed by histochemical means showed similar distribution patterns on frozen sections of various rat tissues, while epitope D did not show such a correlation. DPP IV is inserted in liver plasma membrane by two different mechanisms, one being phospholipase C-sensitive, while in hepatoma the enzyme is anchored in this membrane by a phospholipase C-resistant mechanism only.