The fasting lipid profile of a sample of Malays, Chinese and Indians in Peninsular Malaysia was studied to see whether these might explain differences in the rate of coronary heart disease mortality amongst the three ethnic groups. Fifty healthy subjects were studied from each of the three groups. They were matched for age, body mass index, gender and smoking habits, if any. The total cholesterol/HDL-cholesterol ratio and LDL-cholesterol/HDL-cholesterol ratio were found to be statistically higher in the Indians than in the Malays and the Chinese. The differences between the Indians and the Chinese were statistically more significant than the differences between the Indians and the Malays. Our findings may partially explain the higher predisposition of the Indian community in Malaysia to CHD mortality and are consistent with those of other studies performed on Indian communities living outside the Indian subcontinent.