Condition Index (dry meat weight) (100)/internal cavity volume) has been analyzed and compared in the American oyster, Crassostrea virginica, from two South Carolina estuaries, one of which was polluted by coliform bacterial standards. During the warmer months, oysters from the unpolluted habitat showed a consistently and significantly higher Condition Index. Best fit and power function regressions of Condition Index on total coliform bacterial levels conform with previously cited efforts of pollutants on oysters. Condition Index dropped markedly as the incidence of total coliforms increased toward levels of 100 per 100 ml of water.