Abstract The presence of the Eurasian lynx (Lynx lynx L. 1758) was revealed during an investigation performed from I991 to 1994 in three contiguous valleys (Antigorio valley, Formazza valley and Devero valley) of the Verbania province in Piemonte. In this investigation two methods were employed: interviews with the people who saw a lynx and/or found evidence of its presence (prints, faeces, scratchings on trees and meal remains) and field research by means of line transects, as reported by Ragni et al. (1993). The research area was of about 250 km². Lynx signs were obtained in 1991, 1992 and 1994 between 600 and 1800 m a.s.1. and during all seasons. The lynx was usually observed at night and at dusk. The research shows that the Eurasian lynx is present, although sporadically, in this area of the western Italian Alps.