Fourteen noncommercial preparations of microbial lipases were investigated with respect to their catalytic activity for hydrolysis and synthesis of ester bonds. Six of the lipases were derived from microorganisms that have not previously been described as lipase producers, and another four were characterized for the first time. The synthetic reactions were carried out in two solvents of different polarities (n-heptane and acetone) using a series of fatty acids and primary and secondary alcohols with different chain lengths. Under the culture conditions employed, Pseudomonas cepacia produced more active enzyme than the other microorganisms. The lipase preparations produced using Ovadendron sulphureo-ochraceum, Monascus mucoroides, Monascus sp., Fusarium oxysporum, Penicilliuin chrysogenum, Rhodotorula araucariae, Pseudomonas cepaciia, Streptomyces halstedii, and Streptomyces sp. were the most efficient catalysts for hydrolysis at lipid-water interfaces. Enzyme preparations from P. cepacia, Streptomyces sp., S. halstedii, and R. araucariae were good biocatalysts for esterification in the polar medium (acetone). When the lipase preparations with the greatest activity for hydrolytic reactions were excluded, regression analysis of the data for the hydrolytic and synthetic activities of the remaining lipase preparations yielded high multiple correlation coefficients for these reactions in both n-heptane and acetone (R = 0.82 and 0.91, respectively).