The partition coefficient in the 1-octanol/water system, log P(O/W), is a measure of lipophilicity. It is used as a predictor of solute-membrane partitioning. The objective of this study was to measure the log P(O/W) of five hydroxamic acids. Other molecular descriptors of these solutes, namely molar volume, molar refraction, parachor, polarizability (pi*), hydrogen-bond donor acidity (epsilon alpha) and hydrogen-bond acceptor basicity (epsilon beta), have also been discussed. These properties represent the combined effects of a number of intermolecular forces between a solute and its environment.