There has been an increased interest in recent year in manipulating meat fatty acid composition, because meat is a major source of fat in the diet - particularly saturated fatty acids, which have been implicated in diseases associated with modern life. Conversely, polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA), which lower blood cholesterol concentrations, are present at low levels in meat, especially those of the n-3 series which are beneficial to health. Sales of meat have remained static or fallen slightly in recent years (Wood et al., 1999). This pressure on sales has caused a reappraisal of the factors which influence the appeal of meat to consumers, which together constitute ‘quality’, with one of these factors being the fatty acid composition. Like most animal production traits, fatty acid composition is influenced by both genetic and environmental factors, and the aim of the present study was to locate QTL affecting fatty acid composition in Scottish Blackface lamb meat.