A series of 20 C-terminal fragment analogues of the anticoagulant peptide hirudin were synthesized by solid-phase techniques in order to investigate the nature of the thrombin-hirudin interaction. Inhibition of plasma fibrin clot formation by thrombin in vitro was used as a measure of anticoagulant activity. In the minimum region necessary for detectable anticoagulant activity, hirudin56-64, positions Phe56, Glu57, Ile59, Pro60, and Leu64 are sensitive to modification. These residues are apparently important for direct interaction with thrombin or for maintaining a favorable conformation for the interaction. On the basis of conformational analysis of this region by computational methods, a "kinked" amphipathic alpha-helical structure, which orients all of the residues most critical for activity on one face of the helix, is proposed.