Both reductive and oxidatlve mode of metabolism have been hypothesized for the antitumor agent mitoxantrone. This work aims to better understand the redox properties of mitoxantrone in the presence of the physiological redox couple, copper(I)/copper(II), by means of polarograpy and spectrophotometry. The first quasi-reversible one-electron reduction of mitoxantrone to the semiquinone and the second reduction to the hydroquinone have been shown to be considerably affected by copper. Visible spectra of mitoxantrone-copper mixtures in nitrogen and oxygen purged solutions taken in a one-week period exhibit varying degrees of complexation and oxido-reduction.