Concentrations of total, dissolved inorganic and particulate nutrients (nitrogen and phosphorus) were measured in about 100 New Zealand lakes, ratios between forms of nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) determined, and compared along a gradient of tropic state. As expected, measures of algal biomass, such as chlorophyll a, total N and P (TN and TP), and particulate N and P (PN and PP), and particulate carbon (PC), all correlated highly (R2 = 0.62 to 0.84, log transformed data). Correlations between ratios of different forms of N and P, dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN):dissolved inorganic phosphorus (DRP), TN:TP and PN:PP, correlated only weakly (R2 = 0.16 to 0.22). While there was no significant difference in DIN between trophic states, DRP was significantly higher in hypertrophic lakes than in oligo- to eutrophic lakes. The ratios DIN:DRP and TN:TP decreased with increasing trophic status. However, the ratio PN:PP did not, suggesting that there was no significant change in the proportions of N or P limitation with increasing trophic status.