Lysozyme mRNA was translated in a reticulocyte lysate with mixtures of radioactive amino acids. The in vitro product isolated by immunoprecipitation was shown by gel electrophoresis, peptide mapping, and sequence analysis to be larger than lysozyme synthesized in vivo. An NH2-terminal extension was completely sequenced by automated Edman degradation; the phenylthiohydantoins from each cycle were separated by high pressure liquid chromatography and quantitated by scintillation spectroscopy. The NH2-terminal sequence of pre-lysozyme is: (formula: see text) where lysine is the NH2 terminus of lysozyme. Sixteen of the eighteen residues in this sequence are hydrophobic and in this regard it resembles the partial sequences recently elucidated for other secretory proteins. The NH2-terminal methionine is donated by initiator Met-tRNAfMet; thus, this sequence represents the primary translation product. This 18-amino acid sequence is cleaved from lysozyme in vivo before the lysozyme molecules are completely synthesized.