Photoproduction of hydrogen by free and polyvinylalcohol (PVA)-immobilized spinach chloroplasts was investigated. Immobilization of chloroplast with PVA increased the functional stability of the chloroplast during storage. PVA-immobilized chloroplasts preserved photosynthetic electron transport activity much better than free chloroplasts. The hydrogen production of free chloroplast decreased to 17% of initial activity after storage of six days. The hydrogen production of the PVA-immobilized chloroplast, however, showed 44% of initial activity after storage of 15 days. The maximal rate of hydrogen production was accomplished at 2$^{circ}C$ under the light intensity above 116 $mu$E.m-2.s-1. The amount of hydrogen produced was proportional to the chlorophyll concentration. The hydrogen production was inhibited by DCMU treatment, indicating hydrogen production is dependent on photosynthetic electron transport. These results suggest that PVA is a good candidate for the immobilization matrix of chloroplasts for the photoproduction of hydrogen.