<jats:title>Abstract</jats:title> <jats:p>A new dehydro-γ-lactam, sargassumlactam, has been isolated from the brown alga Sargassum kjellmanianum, and its structure was determined to be 4,5-dehydro-3-methoxy-3,5-dimethoxycarbonyl-2-pyrrolidone by the spectroscopic and X-ray diffraction analysis.