We have previously shown that an endo-beta-N-acetylglucosaminidase (EC 3.2.1.96) named "Endo B", isolated from culture filtrates of the basidiomycete Sporotrichum dimorphosporum cleaves asialo-, and to some extent, monosialylated bi-antennary glycans of the N-acetyllactosamine type linked to the asparagine residue of peptide or protein moieties [Bouquelet S, Strecker G, Montreuil J, Spik G (1980) Biochimie 62:43-49]. In the present paper, the substrate specificity of the enzyme towards oligomannoside and hybrid type glycans has been analyzed. The results obtained indicate that ovalbumin glycopeptides containing four to seven mannose residues and bovine lactotransferrin glycopeptides containing four to nine mannose residues were completely hydrolyzed by the enzyme. The degree of cleavage was variable among hybrid type structures, since glycopeptides containing the following glycans: (Gal)1(GlcNAc)3(Man)5(GlcNAc)2; (GlcNAc)3(Man)5(GlcNAc)2;(GlcNAc)3(Man)4(GlcNAc)2 were not hydrolyzed by the enzyme while the percentage of hydrolysis of a glycopeptide containing (GlcNAc)2(Man)5(GlcNAc)2 glycan reached 90%. The bovine lactotransferrin was partially deglycosylated (40%) in the absence of non-ionic detergent while native ovalbumin glycoprotein was not hydrolyzed by the enzyme. The oligomannoside- and the N-acetyllactosamine-type degrading activities present in the culture filtrates were not separated at any step of the purification procedure. Both activities were eluted as a single component with an apparent molecular mass of 89 kDa suggesting that they are located on the same enzyme molecule. Endo B represents a powerful tool for removing oligomannoside- and N-acetyllactosamine-type glycans from N-glycopeptides and N-glycoproteins. Moreover, advantages in the use of Endo B in a soluble form as well as in an immobilized form result in its high activity and in its stability to heat denaturation and storage.