Disposition kinetics of [3H]palmitate and its low-molecular-weight metabolites in perfused rat livers were studied using the multiple-indicator dilution technique, a selective assay for [3H]palmitate and its low-molecular-weight metabolites, and several physiologically based pharmacokinetic models. The level of liver fatty acid binding protein (L-FABP), other intrahepatic binding proteins (microsomal protein, albumin, and glutathione S-transferase) and the outflow profiles of [3H]palmitate and metabolites were measured in four experimental groups of rats: 1) males; 2) clofibrate-treated males; 3) females; and 4) pregnant females. A slow-diffusion/bound model was found to better describe the hepatic disposition of unchanged [3H]palmitate than other pharmacokinetic models. The L-FABP levels followed the order: pregnant female > clofibrate-treated male > female > male. Levels of other intrahepatic proteins did not differ significantly. The hepatic extraction ratio and mean transit time for unchanged palmitate, as well as the production of low-molecular-weight metabolites of palmitate and their retention in the liver, increased with increasing L-FABP levels. Palmitate metabolic clearance, permeability-surface area product, retention of palmitate by the liver, and cytoplasmic diffusion constant for unchanged [3H]palmitate also increased with increasing L-FABP levels. It is concluded that the variability in hepatic pharmacokinetics of unchanged [3H]palmitate and its low-molecular-weight metabolites in perfused rat livers is related to levels of L-FABP and not those of other intrahepatic proteins.