Abstract.Community-based studies have suggested that the dietary intake of total fat influences factor VII coagulant activity (FVII c ), a predictor of fatal events from coronary heart disease (CHD). Nevertheless, the question whether the quality of dietary fats, with special reference to fatty acids (FAs), influences FVII c is unsolved. The authors investigated in 90 healthy volunteers living in Nove, a village near Vicenza (northern Italy), the relationships between FVII c and the plasma concentration of individual FAs. Several indices of other nutritional factors that have recently received increasing attention as determinants of CHD risk (antioxidant vitamins A and E, oligoelements) were also included in the multivariate analysis. The stepwise multiple linear regression analysis revealed body mass index (BMI), and the concentrations of plasma stearic acid (C 18 : 0 ) and serum copper as significant independent predictors of a substantial proportion of FVII c variability (R 0 . 52; R 2 0 . 27; P < 0 . 001). This study substantially supports the role of the plasma concentration of stearic acid as an important factor in modulating FVII c .