A novel antimicrbial peptide , named HFS-I, was isolated and characterized from the skin of the hagfish, Eptatretus bugeri. The decapeptide with a molecular mass of 1279.5 Da was purified to homogeneity using a gel-filtration column, ion-exchange and C18 reverse-phase high performance liquid chromatograpy . The complete amino acid sequence of HFS-I, which was determined by a combination of an automated amino acid sequencing and FAB-MS, was F-P-W-W-L-S-G-K-Y-P-NH2. Comparison of the amino acid sequence with those of other known antimicrobial peptides revealed that HFS-I was a novel antimicrobial peptide. HFS-I showed a weak antimicrobial activity in vitro aganinst a broad spectrum of microorganism without hemolytic acitivity.