By means of a two-day dietary record, information on the use of dietary supplements has been collected in 1987 and 1988 in a representative sample of the Dutch population aged 1-75 years. More than 17 percent of the population had been using at least one dietary supplement on at least one day of the survey. Age, sex, season, social class, alternative food habits, smoking and diet were related to the use of supplements. In young persons mainly fluoride and vitamin AD preparations were used, while a shift towards other supplements, like garlic and brewer's yeast preparations, was observed as age progresses. The use of single vitamin C supplements was not related to the level of mean daily vitamin C intake by food consumption.