Samples of maize imported into Taiwan during 1997–1998 were collected and analyzed for the presence of fumonisin B₁ (FB₁) using high performance liquid chromatography. Eight (6.8 % ) of 118 samples were found to contain FB₁ (334–1614 μg kg⁻¹). The frequency of FB₁ found in maize samples imported from Australia was 20 % , followed by Thailand (10 % ), and USA (5.1 % ). In analyzing the distribution pattern, it was found that 93.2 % of the samples had FB₁ concentrations below 100 μg kg⁻¹, and only 3.4 % (or four samples) were in excess of 300 μg kg⁻¹.