The hydrodynamic properties of purified D-ßhydroxybutyrate dehydrogenase (BDH), a lecithin-requiring enzyme isolated from bovine heart mitochondria, have been studied using the active-enzyme sedimentation technique. An active complex of BDH with dioctanoyl-L-a-phosphatidylcholine, PC(8:0), was sedimented under assay conditions, and the sedimenting boundary was followed by observing the reduction of NAD+. Between 2.4 and 30 µg of BDH/mL, the ¿ 2o,w increased and was inversely related to the enzymatic activity. The most active species has the smallest apparent s2o,w (3.3 ± 0.2 S). The diffusion coefficient of the BDH-PC(8:0) complex at 2.4 jug/mL, measured by the free diffusion method, was found to be 4.9 ± 0.5 X 10-7 cm2/s; at higher protein concentrations, Z)2o,w decreased. The hydrodynamic studies both of the active BDH-PC(8:0) complex and of the apoen-^Biological membranes are macromolecular complexes consisting of proteins and phospholipids. D-/3-Hydroxybutyrate dehydrogenase, normally bound to the mitochondrial inner membrane, has been purified from bovine heart mitochondria to homogeneity as a soluble, phospholipid-free protein, apo-