High-resolution 4f photoelectron and subsequent Auger-electron spectra have been measured from free Pb atoms using synchrotron radiation. The fine structure of the spectra has been investigated theoretically by calculating the energies and intensities for 4f photoionization and Auger decay processes using the multiconfigurational Dirac-Fock approach. The role of the relativistic effects in the ground and singly and doubly ionized states has been studied on the basis of computed results and their comparison with experiment.