The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of altering relative intakes of fat and carbohydrates on serum lipid profiles, hepatic acyl-CoA synthetase (ACS), carnitine palmitoyltransferase-I (CPT-I), and the acetyl-CoA carboxlyase (ACC) mRNA level in Sprague-Dawley rats. For four weeks the rats were fed either an AIN-76 diet or one of its modified diets that were supplemented with 20% beef tallow (high-fat diet, HF) and 66.3% sucrose (highsucrose diet, HS). The HS group had significantly higher serum triglyceride and total cholesterol concentrations when compared with the other groups. Serum LDL-cholesterol concentrations in the HS and HF groups were significantly higher when compared to the normal diet (ND) group. Serum HDL-cholesterol levels of the ND and HS groups were significantly higher than those of the HF group. The hepatic total lipid level of the HF group was significantly higher than those of other groups; triglyceride levels of the HS and HF groups were significantly higher than those of the ND group. Hepatic ACS mRNA levels of the HF group were significantly higher than those of the ND group. Hepatic CPT-I mRNA levels were higher in the HF group than other groups. Also, ACC mRNA levels in the liver increased in the HF group. In conclusion, changes in the composition of dietary fat and carbohydrates could affect the hepatic ACS, CPT-I, and ACC mRNA levels. These results facilitate our understanding of the coordinated regulation of the ACS, CPT-I, and ACC mRNA levels and will serve to enhance our understanding of the molecular mechanisms that underlie the regulation of fatty acid metabolism.