This study was conducted to compare the effects of n-6 linoleic acid and n-3 linolenic acid on lipid peroxidation and the activities of enzymes defending against oxidation, which are involved in the tumor promotion, and histolOgical changes of hepatocarcinogen treated rat liver. In this study, weanling male Sprague-Dawley rats were fed one of three diets, containing 15% (w/w) of beef fat (BF), com oil (CO) or perilla oil (PO), for 11 weeks. During the 3rd week, experimental groups were injected with 2-AAF (50 mg/kg of BW) intraperitoneally 3 times. Findings show that the com oil diet group has greater liver MDA content than the beef fat and perilla oil diet groups. Also, it is observed that the perilla oil diet group has lower MDA content than beef fat and com oil diet groups, even though perilla oil is more desaturated than beef fat and com oil. In terms of activity, mixed-function oxidase activity is not Significantly affected by the different dietary fats and 2-AAF treatment. GSH-peroxidase, GSH-reductase and GSH-Stransferase activities are significantly higher in the CO+AAF group than those of the other groups. GST and GSH-Px are activated by 2-AAF treatment in the com oil diet group only. The hepatocytes of the BF+AAF group were the most severely degenerated, the second was the CO+AAF group and the least was the PO+AAF group. It was also found that dietary com oil increased lipid peroxidation and activated defense enzymes against oxidation in liver, but dietary perilla oil did not, or supressed defense enzymes. Therefore it is concluded that dietary n-3 linolenic acid in perilla oil inhibits lipid peroxidation and carcinoenesis in rat liver following 2-AAF treatment.