Abstract: A new combined urea-lithium salt method for the preparation of linoleic acid from the seed oil of Xanthium strumarium L. has been developed. The oil was saponified, acidified, and the mixed fatty acids obtained were separated into two parts-saturated and unsaturated-by means of the ordinary alcohol-lead method. The unsaturated fatty acids, consisting mainly of linoleic acid accompanied with a small amount of oleic acid, were treated with lithium hydroxide, and the oleic acid for the most part was filtered off in the form of lithium oleate. To the filtrate, a calculated amount of urea was added, in order to remove the residual amount of oleic acid as its crystalline urea-adducts. By repeating the urea complex procedure, nearly all the oleic acid was removed as above (usually 3 times).The final filtrate consisting of a considerable portion of linoleic acid was then purified by distillation under reduced pressure. By use of this method, the linoleic acid was obtained in excellent yield (40%, on the basis of the total amount of unsaturated fatty acids used) as well as good quality (content: 98.6%, estimated on the basis of iodine number as usual). Besides, a reason- able amount of oleic acid with moderate purity may be recovered. Repeated results indicate that such a new combined method is simple, and more efficient than the conventional ones, including the single urea-adduct method.