The purpose of this study was to assess the concentration and binding pattern of zinc, iron, folate and vitamin B12 in milk of Brazilian women of low socioeconomic status giving birth at term or preterm, during early lactation. Protein, fat, total solids and ash concentrations were also determined. Protein and zinc concentrations decreased significantly as lactation proceeded whereas milk fat and folate increased with the lactation period. Total solids, ash, iron and vitamin B12 remained unchanged. Zinc was present mainly in the whey fraction while less than half of the total iron was present in this fraction, with no significant change due to stage of lactation. Unsaturated folate and vitamin B12 binding capacities and percentage of saturation of the folate binding protein increased with the stage of lactation. The vitamin B12 binding protein was highly unsaturated in all samples. There was no significant difference between term and preterm samples in the parameters investigated. Correlation analysis between milk components indicated significant relationships between total solids and fat, total zinc and whey zinc, folate and total folate binding capacity, unsaturated and total folate binding capacity, and unsaturated and total B12 binding capacity. In general, the nutrient concentrations found in this study are in good agreement with published data on milk composition of women from developed countries, with the possible exceptions of folate, which was lower, and iron, which was higher. The correlation of folate concentration with its binding protein found in this work supports the hypothesis of a regulatory role for folate levels in milk exerted by the folate binding protein in the mammary gland.