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A total of 355 swabs were taken on the slaughterline from 5 areas of hide of each of 71 cattle in an abattoir in Serbia. E. coli O157 was isolated from the hides of 20 animals (28.2%). The occurrence of the pathogen was: hooves (11.3%), brisket (8.4%), rump (7.0%), neck (4.2) and flank (2.8%). Factors that had effects on the occurrence included visible dirtiness of the hide, cattle’s age category, geographical origin of the animals and season. This study confirmed the hide as an important potential source of related contamination of beef carcasses. Letters in Applied Microbiology 2007;46:126-31.