Twenty-one Listeria monocytogenes strains belonging to three different genotypic lineages were evaluated for differences between lineages and between individual strains with respect to thermal inactivation, growth, and survival. Three sets of heat inactivation conditions (60 degrees C, pH 6.0, and 0.5 M lactate; 55 degrees C, pH 6.0, and 0.5 M lactate; and 50 degrees C, pH 4.0, and 0.5 M lactate) were used on strains grown in modified brain heart infusion (BHI) broth with and without glucose. Two sets of growth conditions (35 degrees C, pH 6.5, and 0.1 M lactate and 5 degrees C, pH 6.5, and 0.1 M lactate) were used with modified BHI broths to determine lag phases and exponential growth rates. Two sets of conditions (28 degrees C, pH 4.0, and 1 M lactate and 28 degrees C, pH 4.5, and 0.5 M lactate) were used with modified BHI broth to determine survival times (D-values). Thermal inactivation D-values were consistently lowest for lineage III, but differences were not significant for any set of conditions tested. Some significant differences were observed between lineages with respect to some of the growth and survival conditions tested. Extensive strain-to-strain variation was observed for all parameters tested. Average coefficients of variation for the thermal inactivation, growth, and survival studies were 0.31, 0.18, and 0.26, respectively. Strain-to-strain variations were approximately equal to the uncertainties associated with the analytical procedures. The results obtained indicate a diversity among strains encountered in food processing that must be accounted for in process calculations and risk assessments.