Coagulase positive staphylococci isolated at an Australian abattoir, from beef carcasses, hands, and environmental samples, were typed by the DNA macrorestriction patterns obtained following PFGE of SmaI digests. The predominant PFGE pattern of isolates collected before evisceration was different from the dominant pattern of isolates collected after evisceration. PFGE patterns for isolates from workers' hands and from concordant carcasses were indistinguishable. PFGE types among isolates collected from non-evisceration abattoir personnel and clerical staff were distinct from patterns among isolates collected from the slaughter floor personnel. Twenty-nine (85%) of the 34 isolates collected from carcasses after evisceration exhibited PFGE patterns that were 93% homologous. During evisceration the carcasses were handled extensively and it is proposed that the hands of workers at this abattoir are the primary source of staphylococcal contamination of carcasses on the slaughter floor. This paper highlights the usefulness of PFGE as an epidemiological tool for determining the source of staphylococcal contamination in the food industry.