Abstract. Isolation by a dilution plate method from Pb-polluted soil samples allowed us to select a Pb-resistant strain of Paecilomyces lilacinus, which was able to grow in media containing up to 1,437mg Pb l1. Tests on the actual Pb availability in amended culture media indicate that medium components bind most of the added Pb (7198.5%, depending on the amount added and on the pH reached). Sorption of Pb by dead and living biomasses of P. lilacinus was studied; the metal binding followed a two-stage process, with a very rapid surface adsorption within the first 6h, and a slow intracellular diffusion in living cells in the 42 following hours.