The present study was aimed to investigate the effect of dietary supplementation of $eta$-carotene on vitamin A metabolism in ethanol-fed rats. Sprague-Dawley rats weighing 190~210g were fed a liquid diet containing 36% of total calories as ethanol for 6 weeks. The pair-fed control rats(1BP group, 2BP group) were given an isocaloric amount of diet containing sucrose instead of ethanol on the following day. Additionally, the liquid diet, contained different levels of $eta$-carotene(1BE group: 2.1, 2BE group: 21mg/L liquid diet). Body weight gains and food efficiency ratios of ethanol groups were lower than those of pair-fed groups. This effect did not change with dietary supplementation of $eta$-carotene. The levels of plasma and hepatic retionl were decreased after chronic ethanol feeding, but the values in 2BE group were higher than in 1BE group. The content of hepatic retinoic acid tended to increase in proportion to $eta$-carotene supplementation. There results suggest that ethanol consumption may affect the vatamin A methabolism and reduce the conversion of $eta$-carotene to retinol in rats.