The authors conducted a case-control study among the multiethnic population of Hawaii to test the hypotheses that lung cancer risk is inversely associated with dietary intake of total vitamin A, carotene, and vitamin C. Detailed dietary interviews were completed between September 1979 and October 1982 for 364 primary lung cancer patients and 627 general population controls matched on age and sex. After adjusting for a number of potentially confounding variables, including ethnicity, smoking history, and occupation, evidence was found that total vitamin A intake (food sources plus supplements), vitamin A intake from food sources only, and carotene intake were each inversely associated with lung cancer risk in males, but not in females. Among males, a monotonic dose-response relationship was found only for total vitamin A intake. However, a comparison of the lowest and highest quartiles of intake gave similar results for each of the three measures of nutrient intake: total vitamin A (odds ratio (OR) = 1.8; 95% confidence limits (CL) = 1.1-3.1), vitamin A from foods (OR = 2.0; 95% CL = 1.2-3.5), and carotene (OR = 2.2; 95% CL = 1.3-3.7). Similar analyses revealed no significant association between dietary vitamin C intake and lung cancer risk.