The content of total lipids and total and component phospholipids in ca. 140 foods was compiled in response to frequent requests for data by researchers in nutrition and medicine, and to fill the appar‐ent need for a reliable up‐to‐date tabulation of recent data. Eggs, organ meats, lean meats, fish, shellfish, cereal grains and oilseeds are good sources of phospholipids, especially the choline phosphatides: phosphatidylcholine, sphingomyelin and lysophosphatidylcholine. Leafy vegetables, fruiting parts, roots and tubers are, with few ex‐ceptions, relatively poor dietary sources of total lipids and phospho‐lipids. Foods or tissues in which the phospholipids perform similar functions also have similar relative phospholipid distributions. The data were tabulated by food group in separate tables with appropri‐ate discussion. The use of conversion factors for calculating the total and individual phospholipids, sources of error, and research needs are discussed.