The protective effects of four osmolytes (trehalose, dimethysulfoxide, glycine and proline) on the conformational stability and aggregation of guanidine-denatured yeast alcohol dehydrogenase (YADH) have been investigated in this paper. The results show that the four osmolytes protect YADH against unfolding and inactivation by reducing ki (inactivation rate constants), increasing DeltaDeltaGi (transition free energy changes at 25 degrees C), increasing Cm (value for the midpoint of denaturation) and decreasing its ANS-binding fluorescence intensity. Furthermore, these osmolytes can prevent YADH aggregation in a concentration-dependent manner during YADH refolding.