The XbaI, EcoRI and the signal peptide insertion/deletion (I/D) polymorphic sites of APOB gene, the CfoI polymorphic site of apolipoprotein E gene (APOE), and the insertion/deletion polymorphism of angiotensin I-converting enzyme (ACE) gene were studied using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) in 55 postmenopausal women with coronary artery disease (CAD) and in 119 control women of equivalent age. Patients and controls were recruited from the population of Rome, considered representative of Central and Southern Italy. There were no significant differences in allele frequencies between the two groups, though APOB X-, R- and I, APOE*3, and ACE D alleles were slightly more frequent in the cases than in the controls. The patients did not differ from the controls for plasma total cholesterol (TC), HDL-cholesterol, LDL-cholesterol, and apoAI values, while they presented significantly higher levels of triglycerides and apoB, and lower apoE levels. TC, apoE, and apoB quantitative values, adjusted for age, varied significantly among APOB XbaI and APOE genotypes. APOB X-X- genotype was associated in patients with a significantly lower mean TC concentration than the other two genotypes pooled together. APOE 3-2 genotype in the controls had significantly lower TC levels with respect to the other two pooled genotypic classes and higher apoE levels compared to 3-3 and 4-3 genotypes. In the patients, 3-2 genotype had significantly lower apoB levels than the pooled 3-3 and 4-3 class. We conclude that in the Italian women the DNA polymorphisms studied in this work do not seem to be important risk factors for CAD occurrence; that apoE quantitation could be another useful parameter to identify subjects at risk of CAD; and that APOB X- and APOE*2 are the alleles that most influence the interindividual plasma lipid variation among CAD female patients.