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In iron deficiency anaemia basic red cell content of ferritin is appreciably reduced. This variable was determined in 62 patients with rheumatoid arthritis to evaluate conventional laboratory indices for iron deficiency in the anaemia of rheumatoid arthritis.For 23 patients with rheumatoid arthritis and normocytic anaemia irrespective of plasma ferritin concentration, red cell ferritin content did not differ significantly from that for non-anaemic patients with rheumatoid arthritis. For 27 patients with rheumatoid arthritis and microcytic anaemia, the mean red cell ferritin content for patients with a plasma ferritin concentration in the ,ug/l range was appreciably reduced. It was indistinguishable from that for patients with rheumatoid arthritis and classical iron deficiency anaemia, indicated by plasma ferritin concentrations of less than 12 ±g/l.