We show that, in a JB-algebra, the projections form a Banach manifold and also, the rank-n projections in a JBW-factor form a Riemannian symmetric space of compact type, for n ∈ N ∪ {0}.1. Introduction. The close connection between Jordan algebras and geometry is wellknown (cf. [10]). Recently, various differentiable manifolds associated with a JB*-triple have been studied in [1], [5], [6], [7], [8]. These manifolds can be regarded as infinite dimensional analogues of the Grassmann manifolds. In particular, the manifolds of finite rank projections in the algebra B(H ) of bounded operators on a Hilbert space H have been studied in [1], [5], via the complex JB*-structures of B(H ). Since these manifolds are contained in the self-adjoint part B(H ) sa of B(H ), which is a real JB-algebra, it is desirable to study them via the real structures of B(H ) sa without complexification, and moreover, to tackle the wider question of such manifolds in arbitrary JB-algebras. The object of this paper is to address these issues, and indeed, we study manifolds of projections in JB-algebras using only real Jordan algebraic structures. The merit of this alternative approach may lie in its simplicity and generality. It also unifies and clarifies some results in [1], [5]. For convenience, we regard a point as a "0-dimensional manifold".We first show that, in any JB-algebra, the projections form a real Banach manifold P, and the finite rank projections, as well as the infinite rank projections, in a JBW-algebra form submanifolds of P. In a JBW-factor A, the manifold of finite rank projections consists of a sequence of connected components: