Abstract. This paper is concerned with positive solutions of the semilinear polyharmonic equation (−∆) m u = a(x)u α on R n , where m and n are positive integers with n > 2m, α ∈ (−1, 1). The coefficient a is assumed to satisfyWe prove the existence of a positive solution u such thatwith λ := min(n − 2m, λ−2m 1−α ) and a function L, given explicitly in terms of L and satisfying the same condition at infinity. (Given positive functions f and g on R n , f ≈ g means that c −1 g ≤ f ≤ cg for some constant c > 1.)