To evaluate the accuracy of the vertical profiles and total column densities obtained by a ground-based laser heterodyne spectrometer, four ozonesonde measurements were performed at Sendai, Japan in November 28--December 2, 1989. The altitudes, widths and maximum values of the peaks in the ozone vertical distributions obtained by the laser heterodyne observations agreed well with those obtained by the ozonesondes, though the fine structures in the ozone distributions can not be resolved by this remote sensing method. The total column densities and their temporal variation obtained by the laser heterodyne observations were also consistent with the ozonesonde data and the Dobson spectrophotometer data at Sapporo and Tateno. ¿American Geophysical Union 1990