Aqueous solutions of L-histidine have been analysed in parallel by infrared (IR) and Raman spectroscopy over the pH range 0-14 with increments of one pH unit. The vibrational spectra in the region 2000-500 cm À1 have been interpreted and band positions have been assigned tentatively, taking into account assignments from literature after critical evaluation. As a result, a complete and complementary set of vibrational data has been obtained that can be used to determine all possible states of protonation of histidine, i.e. H 4 His 2+ , H 3 His + , H 2 His 0 , HHis À and His 2À . In addition, IR and Raman bands have been proposed as markers for the presence of the imidazole N p -or N t -protonated tautomeric forms of H 2 His 0 and HHis À .