A simple and selective determination method of 11-dehydrothromboxane B2 (11-dehydroTXB2), which is urinary metabolite of TXA2, has been developed employing liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS-MS). 11-DehydroTXB2 and its deuterium-labeled analogue as an internal standard were extracted from urine by simple solid-phase extraction (SPE). These compounds were analyzed using LC-MS-MS in the selected reaction monitoring (SRM) mode, by monitoring the transitions from m/z 367 to m/z 161 for 11-dehydroTXB2 and from m/z 371 to m/z 165 for its internal standard. A good linear response over the range 50 pg-10 ng per tube was demonstrated. The values determined by LC-MS-MS were well validated and closely corresponded to the values determined by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The mean concentration of 11-dehydroTXB2 in urine of healthy adults was 635 +/- 427 pg/mg creatinine (mean +/- S.D., n = 13). This simple, accurate and selective determination method described in this study should greatly aid in evaluating the role of TXA2 in vivo.