Three monomeric phospholipases A2 with isoelectric points 4.5, 6.9 and 9.3 were purified from the venom of Agkistrodon halys pallas. The complete amino acid sequence of the acidic enzyme and partial amino acid sequences of the neutral and basic phospholipases were determined in order to relate differences in enzymatic reactivities, pharmacologic activities and cytotoxicities to aspects of structure. Studies reported here and elsewhere demonstrate that the three phospholipases A2 exhibit pronounced differences relative to function. The acidic enzyme maintains the highest reactivity toward hydrolysis of monolayers at the air-water interface and may share a feature in common with the acidic enzyme from A. h. blomhoffii, namely the inhibition of platelet aggregation. The neutral phospholipase A2 designated agkistrotoxin, is characterized by potent activity as a pre-synaptic neurotoxin. Agkistrotoxin is the first single polypeptide chain, neurotoxic phospholipase A2 to be documented with a Group II disulfide pattern and, in several respects, may be considered functionally and structurally analogous to notexin from the Australian tiger snake venom. Finally, the basic membranes in the presence of a bactericidal-permeability-increasing protein from neutrophil sources.