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Introduction and objective: Cerebrospinal (CSF) protein fractioning is a basic tool for the diagnosis and follow-up of some neurological diseases, thus information on the normal electrophoretic patterns is essential. The objective of this work is to present the results obtained in our laboratory for normal CSF from children and adults. Methods: 7.5% polycrylamide gel electrophoresis was employed for serum and CSF protein fractioning in 109 children and 55 adults of both genders. Gels were stained with Coomassie Brilliant Blue to obtain the general protein pattern and with NADI reagent to reveal serum haptoglobin bands. Results and conclusions: The CSF protein concentration and the gamma fraction were lower, and the prealbumin-1 fraction was higher in children than in adults. The presence of haptoglobin bands in the CSF was not indicative of increased permeability of the blood-CSF barrier, as they were encountered in 65.7% of children and in 79.6% of adults. The technique employed allowed the acquirement of rapid and precise information, which is very useful for the diagnostic support and followup of some diseases of the nervous system and has been the basis for the interpretation of pathological electrophoretic patterns in our laboratory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]