Thrombolytic efficacy is directly related to thrombus age. We used recombinant tissue plasminogen activator (rt-PA), Streptokinase (SK) and Urokinase (UK) on a seven days old inferior vena cava thrombus model. "In vitro" clot lysis assays with fibrinogen-I125 were also evaluated with the same agents at 1, 3 and 7 days. Fibrinogen, D-D dimer and t-PA were measured. Experiments with 40 controls and 27 rt-PA treated animals showed a significant decrease in thrombus weight (8.5 +/- 1.1 mg) vs. (4.2 +/- 0.6 mg) (p less than 0.01). Fibrinogen concentration in rt-PA group decreased significantly (1032 +/- 123 mg/dl) vs. (202 +/- 32 mg/dl) (p less than 0.001). "In vitro" rt-PA showed a marked lytic effect in a wide range (100-4 IU/ml). Fibrin selective agents as rt-PA may be more effective than non selective ones in the treatment of fully developed thrombus.