The structure and polymorphism of a homologous series of diacyl- and of dialkylphosphatidylethanolamines have been investigated by X-ray diffraction, calorimetry, and density measurement. The compositional dependence of the repeat spacings of the gel (L beta or L beta'), fluid bilayer (L alpha), and inverted hexagonal (HII) phases has been determined both for the short chain length (di-C12) dialkyl didodecylphosphatidylethanolamine (DDPE) and for the long chain length (di-C20) diacyl diarachinoylphosphatidylethanolamine (DAPE). These data, in conjunction with the measured phase transition temperatures obtained both by X-ray diffraction and by differential scanning calorimetry, have been used to construct phase diagrams for the two lipids. DDPE exhibits metastable behavior in the L beta and L alpha phases below 44 degrees C at all water contents and forms cubic and other nonlamellar phases between the L alpha and HII phases. At low water contents, crystalline and fluid phases coexist at temperatures up to 83 degrees C. For DAPE, the behavior is simpler. In the gel phase, the hydrocarbon chains are tilted at 29 degrees to the bilayer normal, and metastability is only observed at water contents below 3 wt %. The L alpha phase is adopted within a narrow temperature range and then transforms directly to the HII phase. The structural parameters of the L beta (L beta'), L alpha, and HII phases of DDPE and DAPE have been calculated from the X-ray data, in conjunction with the measured values of lipid partial specific volume. In addition, the chain-length dependence of the repeat spacings of the phases has been measured for the homologous series of diacyl and dialkyl lipids. Taken together, the results allow a detailed description of the effects of temperature, hydration, and chain length on the polymorphism of the saturated phosphatidylethanolamines.