We report on BeppoSAX AO1 Core Program observations of 3C 279, performed in January 1997. 3C 279 was found in a low state, with constant X-ray flux in the 5 observations. The spectra obtained with the LECS and MECS instruments combining the 5 observations are well fitted by a single power law with energy spectral index α = 0.64 +/- 0.03 and Galactic absorption. The source is weakly detected by the PDS instrument. Comparison with simultaneous γ-ray data obtained by EGRET and with previous multifrequency measurements shows that the X-ray emission is well correlated with the γ-ray emission over long timescales.