In the course of studies on the excretion of various chemicals by the liver, it was discovered that sodium salicylate and the sodium salt of diiodosalicylic acid did not appear in the bile of the rabbit in determinable quantities after the intravenous administration of 4 cc. of a 1% solution per kilo of body weight. In view of the consequent discrepancy regarding the cholagogue and bactericidal action of salicylates on the biliary system, it seemed worth while to investigate the biliary excretion of salicylate in man. Three patients, 2 with drainage tubes in the common hepatic duct following cholecystectomy and choledochotomy, and one with a cholecystostomy, received by mouth a single dose of 20 mgm. of sodium salicylate per kilo of body weight. Samples of bile and urine were obtained before administration and after administration, namely 12, 40 and 79 hours respectively. The salicylate was determined colorimetrically by a modification of the Millon reaction. Studies made in one case: Housewife of 66, cholecystectomy for chronic cholecystitis and cholelthiasis, choledochotomy for stones in the common duct, and catheter in the common duct. The bile and urine were collected in hourly samples for 12 hours. The flow of bile averaged about 26 cc. per hour (with a minimum of 8 and a maximum of 48 cc.) and totaled 290 cc. for the 12 hours. Sodium salicylate could not be detected. The urine totaled 1381 cc. for the same period. This contained a total of 0.584 gm. of salicylic acid, corresponding to 0.680 gm. of sodium salicylate. Sodium salicylate did not appear in the bile in recognizable amounts following the oral administration of doses of 20 mg. per kilo of body weight to the 3 patients with disease of the biliary system.