The objective of this paper was to estimate the effect of hot carcass weight and leanness assessed according to the ‘EUROP’ carcass grading system on the meat quality parameters. The investigations were performed in March 2001, on 100 fatteners from the mass population, and originating from a raw meat facility belonging to one meat plant located in central-eastern Poland. The carcasses were selected directly on the slaughter line according to the three criteria: leanness assessed using an ‘ULTRA FOM 100’ apparatus manufactured by the Danish company ‘SFK Technology’, and classified according to the ‘EUROP’ carcass grading system; hot carcass weight ranging from 75.0 to 80.0 kg, as well as from 80.1 to 85.0 kg within each of the ‘EUROP’ grading classes; and gender – from the point of view of the equal number of boars and gilts within each leanness class, as well as within each range of hot carcass weight. No statistically significant dependence was proved to exist between the lean meat content in a carcass ranging from 40 to 60% of leanness (classes from O to E), and the quality of meat produced. The raw material produced from fatteners of the Class P showed the highest rate of pH dropping until the 35th minute following the slaughter, the highest natural drip loss measured at the 48th, 72nd, and 96th hour post mortem, and the highest losses in the cured meat occurring during the thermal processing (RTN).