One-hundred and twenty-one isolates of Salmonella enterica serotype Montevideo, representing different biotypes and incidents of infection detected in the UK between 1977 and 1995, were analysed by EcoRI ribotyping, PvuII ribotyping and IS200 fingerprinting. Among the isolates examined, 7 EcoRI ribotypes, 5 PvuII ribotypes and 55 IS200 profile types were recognized and 4 arbitrary groups defined. All 33 isolates of biotype 2d belonged to EcoRI/PvuII ribotype 1/1 and IS200 lineage A and comprised Group I. The other 88 isolates of biotype 10di and its variants were assigned to Groups II–IV. All 27 isolates in Group II were of EcoRI/PvuII ribotype 2/2 and IS200 lineage B. Among the 43 isolates in Group III, 42 of which were of EcoRI/PvuII ribotype 3/3, IS200 analysis identified 38 profiles in lineages C–I. Six EcoRI/PvuII ribotypes and 8 IS200 profiles, mostly in lineages C–E, were recognized among the 18 isolates in Group IV. The combined use of biotyping and ribotyping, and to some extent IS200 profiling, has enhanced our understanding of the clonal structure of serotype Montevideo and provides a basis for further study.