The objective of this study was to determine the effect of hot carcass weight and leanness according to the ‘EUROP’ carcass grading system on the gain of primal cuts obtained from the cutting of carcasses. 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. The increase in the hot carcass weight by about 5.0 kg (from 75.0–80.0 kg to 80.1–85.0 kg) (disregarding the degree of carcass muscling) significantly impacted the increase in the gain of valuable primal cuts, i.e. ham, shoulder, loin, and neck. The statistically significant increase in the gain of weight of backfat, ribs (at pŁ0.01), groin and yowl (at pŁ0.05) with their per cent content in the halfcarcass remaining unchanged proves a reduced negative impact of hot carcass weight on the gain of the primal cuts under discussion.