The antioxidant activity of vitamin E (a-tocopherol) during the peroxidation of unsaturated lipids has been reviewed based on its reaction products. Free-radical scavenging reactions of a-tocopherol take place via the a-tocopheroxyl radical as an intermediate. If a suitable free radical is present, a non-radical product can be formed from the coupling of the free radical with the a-tocopheroxyl radical. The reaction products of a-tocopherol with lipid-peroxyl radicals are 8a-(lipid-dioxy)-a-tocopherones which are hydrolyzed to a-tocopherylquinone. If the supply of oxygen is insufficient, a-tocopherol can trap the carbon-centered radicals of lipids to form 6-0-(lipidalkyl)-a-tocopherols. On the other hand, the dimer and trimer of a-tocopherol is formed by the bimolecular self-reaction of the a-tocopheroxyl radical in a reaction mixture containing a large amount of a-tocopherol. The other product-forming pathway yields isomeric epoxy-a-tocopherylquinones and their precursors, epoxyhydroperoxy-a-tocopherones, but the mechanism of this pathway remains unknown. The reaction products of other vitamin E compounds (7-and 6-tocopherols) during lipid peroxidation are almost the same as those formed from the a-tocopherol. The tocopheroxyl radicals of 7-and 6-tocopherols prefer to react with each other to form dimeric products that are still effective as antioxidants.