During the past 4 years, several laboratories have developed new methods of cloning antibody combining site genes from hybridomas or B‐lymphocytes, and functionally expressing them in bacteria, yeast, mammalian cells or plants. At least three research groups have also constructed ‘antibody display’ libraries with vastly diverse sequence permutations of combining site genes in bacteriophage. These semi‐synthetic combinatorial libraries present an antibody repertoire orders of magnitude greater than that accessed by conventional hybridoma technology. They may yield antibodies not obtainable through conventional immunization. We have cloned the immunoglobulin genes from a hybridoma specific for the phenylurea herbicide, diuron, into a phage display vector. The cloned antibody fragments (Fabs) were as sensitive as the parent monoclonal antibody for detecting free diuron in competition enzyme immunoassays. We also derived diuron hapten‐specific clones from synthetic combinatorial phage libraries, but only a few weakly recognized free diuron. The relative merits of deriving Fabs from synthetic phage display libraries, and the steps in engineering new specificities and other properties into recombinant antibodies, are discussed.