An implementation of the optimal estimation scheme to obtain vertical ozone profiles from satellite measurements of backscattered solar ultraviolet (buv) radiation is described. This algorithm (Version 6.0) has been used to produce a 15-year data set of global ozone profiles from Nimbus 7 SBUV, NOAA 11 SBUV/2, and Space Shuttle SSBUV instruments. A detailed discussion of the information content of the measurement is presented. Using high vertical resolution ozone profiles from the SAGE II experiment as ''truth'' profiles, it is shown that the buv technique can capture short-term variabilities of ozone in 5-km vertical layers, between 0.3 mbar and 100 mbar, with a precision of 5--15%. However, outside the 1--20 mbar range, buv-derived results are heavily influenced by a priori assumptions. To minimize this influence, it is recommended that the studies of long-term trends using buv data be restricted to 1--20 mbar range. Outside this range, only the column amounts of ozone between 20 mbar and surface, and above 1 mbar, can be considered relatively free of a priori assumptions. ¿ American Geophysical Union 1996