The carotenoid composition and vitamin A value of ''buriti'' (Mauritia vinifera Mart.), a popular palm fruit from Northern Brazil, were determined. Of the nine carotenoids identified, eight were carotenes (13-cis-alpha-carotene, alpha-carotene, 13-cis-beta-carotene, beta-carotene, 9-cis-beta-carotene, zeta-carotene, beta-Zeacarotene and gamma-carotene) and only one was a xanthophyll (zeaxanthin) The provitamins A beta-carotene, alpha-carotene and gamma-carotene were the main pigments, representing 70, 16 and 7% of the total carotenoid content (513 +/- 30 mu g/g). With mean vitamin A values of 6,992 and 6,489 RE/100 g, calculated with and without isomer separation, respectively, ''buriti'' proved to be one the richest sources of provitamin A.381109120