Using water-soluble hydrated fullerenes embedded in a polyvinyl alcohol matrix, samples were obtained that demonstrated the presence of optical anisotropy when they were formed in a magnetic field. Its existence was established in experiments on light scattering in films containing C 60 (OH) n and C 70 (OH) m molecules. The mechanism of the effect is presumably associated with the anisotropy of the shape of these molecules. KEYWORDS carbon-containing composites, polymer matrices, fullerene, fullerenol, light scattering. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The authors are grateful to A. V. Varlamov and D. M. Seliutin for their help in the experiments. FOR CITATION Pleshakov I.V., Proskurina O.V., Gerasimov V.I., Kuz'min Yu.I. Optical anisotropy in fullerene-containing polymer composites induced by magnetic field.