Prime and tailings starches of garbanzo beans and peas were separated and their chemical composition, physical properties, thermal behavior and gel properties were determined. Starch granules smaller than 35μm was 85% in garbanzo beans, 66.8% in a smooth pea cv. Latah and only 18.4% in a smooth pea cv. SS Alaska. Amylose content of prime starch was 35.9% in garbanzo beans, 44.5% to 48.8% in smooth peas and 86.0% in wrinkled pea cv. Scout. Tailings starch had a higher amylose content by at least 8% than its corresponding prime starch. The endothermic enthalpy value of garbanzo bean and two smooth pea prime starches ranged from 12.1 to 14.2 J/g, while prime starch from wrinkled peas gave a distinctly lower enthalpy value of 1.1 J/g. Differential scanning calorimetry endothermic enthalpy and amylograph pasting properties of prime starch were significantly related to its amylose content (P<0.05). Prime starches of garbanzo beans and smooth peas produced highly cohesive elastic gels. Wrinkled pea prime starch formed the strongest, though brittle, gel, as indicated by high hardness (21.8 N), low cohesiveness (0.29) and low springiness (0.82). Hardness of gel stored at 22°C and at 4°C was positively correlated with amylose content of starch.