Simple and precise high-performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) assay was developed and validated for the determination of a HMG-CoA reductase inhibitor, $lovastatin^{TM}$ and its active metabolite (mevinolinic acid) in human plasma. The method involved solid phase extraction of mevinolinic acid and internal standard using Sep-Pak Cartridge. Samples were analyzed by reversed-phase HPLC using $Capcell-Pak;C_{18}$ column with ultraviolet detection at 238 nm. The quantitation limit of mevinolinic acid was 2 ng/ml and the calibration curve was linear over the range of 2-50 ng/ml $(r^2>0.999)$ with human plasma. The analyses of quality control samples indicated that the normal values could be predicted with an accuracy >97%. The intra- and inter-day coefficients of variation for the analyses were <10%. The average recoveries were similar (79%) for mevinolinic acid and methylmevinolinic acid. The method described has been successfully applied to the quantification of mevinolinic acid in about 1,000 human plasma samples over six-month period.