140 buildings of Korean major cities were investigated for the presence of asbestos and man made mineral fibers (MMMF) in their construction materials. 73 (52%) and 84 (60%) buildings contained asbestos and MMMF in their construction materials, respectively, and 17 (12%) buildings contained both asbestos and MMMF. 75% of the asbestos containing buildings were mostly constructed during 1970's. 100% of underground shopping arcades, 90% of manufacturing workplaces, 84% of train and bus terminals had the asbestos containing construction materials. The manufacturing workplaces of Daejeon (89%) and Daegu (89%), which mostly had been built in the past, used asbestos containing building materials, while the building in Seoul, Busan and Jinju, which were constructed recently, used relatively lower asbestos containing building materials with 46%, 28%, and 33%, respectively. 9 building materials that have been widely used in Korea were analyzed using a transmission electron microscope equipped with energy dispersive X-ray analyzer (TEM-EDX) for their mineral contents. All asbestos fibers showed typical characteristics of chrysotile fibers with hollow tube structure. The average diameter ranged from 0.03㎛ to 0.05㎛, and the average length were ranged from 7.5㎛ to 12.0㎛. Atomic percentages of asbestos fibers were 51.9∼55.9% of Mg, 41.3∼44.3% for Si, and 2.7∼4.8% for Fe.