BACKGROUND: Plasma Vitamin E status may indicate protection against cholesterol oxidation. The purpose of this study was to determine if the plasma vitamin E status is influenced by exercise training status or a single session of submaximal exercise. METHODS: The 41 participants were categorized as sedentary, recreational endurance trained, competitive endurance trained, or cardiac rehabilitation patients. Subjects completed a 3-day dietary record. After a 24-hour diet and exercise control period, including a 12-hour fast, venous blood was collected. Plasma was analyzed for total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), total lipid, vitamin E, and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) vitamin E concentrations. Each subject then exercised on a treadmill at 60% of measured maximal oxygen consumption for 30 minutes. Postexercise samples were collected 5 minutes after the activity. RESULTS: Multivariate analysis of variance and follow-up Tukey post hoc tests indicated that the cardiac rehabilitation group had lower total fat and monounsaturated fat intake in the diet than the other groups, and the competitive-endurance trained group had higher HDL-C levels. Plasma vitamin E was higher in the cardiac rehabilitation group, but the statistical differences disappeared when expressed per unit of plasma total lipid. The vitamin E content of LDL was not different among the groups. A single exercise session did not alter the plasma lipoprotein or vitamin E status. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that habitual activity level of healthy individuals or a single session of exercise does not influence the plasma vitamin E or LDL vitamin E concentrations. However, patients in an endurance cardiac rehabilitation program tend to show normal to elevated plasma vitamin E status.