The chemical composition of lipophilic extractives from fibers of three annual plants, namely hemp (Cannabis sativa), flax (Linum usitatissimum) and kenaf (Hibiscus cannabinus) that are commonly used for high quality paper pulp production was studied. The cloroform soluble fractions of the acetone extracts of the fibers were analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. The main compounds identified were series of n-alkanes, n-fatty acids, n-aldehydes, n-fatty alcohols and waxes. On the other hand, free and esterified sterols and triterpenols, steroid hydrocarbons, steroid and triterpenoid ketones, as well as sterol glycosides were also found in the fibers studied here.A.G. acknowledges a "Ramón y Cajal" contract of the Spanish MCYT. We thank CELESA (Tortosa, Spain) for providing the raw materials.Peer reviewe