The IEEE 802.11 protocol is the most mature technology for WLANs(Wireless Local Area Networks). However, as the number of stations increases, the delay and throughput performance of IEEE 802.11 MAC(Medium Access Control) degrades severely. In this paper, we present the comprehensive performance analysis of IEEE 802.11 MAC protocol by investigating the MAC layer packet service time when arrival packet sizes have a general probability distribution. We obtain the discrete probability distribution of the MAC layer service time. By using this, we analyze the system throughput and the MAC layer packet service time of IEEE 802.11 MAC protocol in wireless LAN environment. We take some numerical examples for the system throughput and the mean packet service time for several special distributions of arrival packet sizes.