Adsorption of non-ionized organic chemicals from aqueous solution by 17 Australian soils was related to the organic matter content of the soils. The soil organic matter/water distribution (Kom) for each chemical was similar in all soils and could be predicted from the octanol/water distribution (Kow) of the chemical. The relationship between these two distributions, log Kom = 0.52log Kow, + 0.69, is similar to that reported for European and North American soils.