Effects of cimetidine, a cytochrome P450 inhibitor, on the benzo[a]pyrene (BaP)-mediated cytochrome P450 induction and lipid peroxidation of liver in olive flounder, Paralichthys olivaceus, were investigated. Fish were fed either a cimetidine-supplemented diet or a cimetidine-free control diet once daily to satiation for 3 days. After 6 hrs of last feeding, the fish received intraperitoneal (i.p.) injection of BaP (20 mg/kg of body weight) dissolved in sterile corn oil $(100 mu L)$ or received only a corn oil i.p. injection. At 1, 2, 3, and 7 days after the injection, hepatic cytochrome P450 and thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS), an indicator of lipid peroxidation, were analyzed. BaP injection resulted in an increase of hepatic cytochrome P450, and the fish fed the cimetidine-supplemented diet before injection of BaP showed delayed increase of hepatic cytochrome P450 compared to the fish fed a cimetidine-free diet and BaP injected. Injection of BaP clearly induced hepatic lipid peroxidation, and consistently higher TBAR values were shown in the fish fed a cimetidine­supplemented diet before injection of BaP than the fish injected with BaP alone.