The function of zinc in the nutrition of man has been studied by numerous investigators in an attempt to determine the needs of the body for this element. To date no deficiency disease has been produced by a zinc-deficient diet and cured by the addition of this element to the diet. The only criteria thus far presented to establish its essentialness in the dietary of man are the facts that zinc is retained by the body and that its presence is necessary for normal functioning of other nutrients. This study was made to observe zinc metabolism of young college women on self-selected diets, to see if a requirement for zinc intake in humans could be established.