Zygosaccharomyces rouxii is a salt-tolerant yeast which plays an important role during the ripening stage of soy sauce fermentation. Z. rouxii used in the experiment could grow in YPD (1 % yeast extract, 2% peptone and 2% glucose, pH5.0) medium with 18% (w/v) NaCl, whereas Saccharomyces cerevisiae could only grow in YPD medium with less than 8% NaCl. In the presence of 15% NaCl, Z. rouxii accumulates a large amount of glycerol as a compatible solute within the cells in the exponential phase. It is a characteristic of salt-tolerant yeasts. From the chemical analyses on membrane lipid fluidity, the membrane structure of the cells grown in 15% NaCl was suggested to become more rigid and its fluidity was decreased to keep glycerol within the cells in response to surrounding medium with high concentrations of salt.