Liver fatty acid binding protein (L-FABP) has been proposed to limit the availability of long-chain fatty acids (LCFA) for oxidation and for peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor alpha (PPAR-alpha), a fatty acid binding transcription factor that determines the capacity of hepatic fatty acid oxidation. Here, we used L-FABP null mice to test this hypothesis. Under fasting conditions, this mutation reduced beta-hydroxybutyrate (BHB) plasma levels as well as BHB release and palmitic acid oxidation by isolated hepatocytes. However, the capacity for ketogenesis was not reduced: BHB plasma levels were restored by octanoate injection; BHB production and palmitic acid oxidation were normal in liver homogenates; and hepatic expression of key PPAR-alpha target (MCAD, mitochondrial HMG CoA synthase, ACO, CYP4A3) and other (CPT1, LCAD) genes of mitochondrial and extramitochondrial LCFA oxidation and ketogenesis remained at wild-type levels. During standard diet, mitochondrial HMG CoA synthase mRNA was selectively reduced in L-FABP null liver. These results suggest that under fasting conditions, hepatic L-FABP contributes to hepatic LCFA oxidation and ketogenesis by a nontranscriptional mechanism, whereas L-FABP can activate ketogenic gene expression in fed mice. Thus, the mechanisms whereby L-FABP affects fatty acid oxidation may vary with physiological condition.