The suitability of satellite remote sensing to map chlorophyll-a and suspended materials distribution was investigated for a lake and a reservoir. Stepwise linear regression analysis has been applied to derive relationship between satellite measured radiances and in situ water quality data. In spite of the mixing effects of chlorophyll-a absorption and reflection of suspended particles on radiances, good correlations (R equals 0. 71-0. 90) were obtained between Landsat MSS and reference measurements. Extending the regression equations for the whole water areas, chlorophyll-a and suspended material distribution maps were derived.