The vertical distribution of the ozone in the troposphere and the lower and middle stratosphere has been retrieved from a series 0.005--0.013 cm-1 resolution infrared solar spectra recorded with the McMath Fourier transform spectrometer at the National Solar Observatory on Kitt Peak. The analysis is based on a multilayer line-by-line forward model and a semiempirical version of the optimal estimation inversion method by Rodgers. The 1002.6--1003.2 cm-1 spectral interval has been selected for the analysis on the basis of synthetic spectrum calculations. The characterization and error analysis of the method have been performed. It was shown that for the Kitt Peak spectral resolution and typical signal-to-noise ratio (≥100) the retrieval is stable, with the vertical resolution of ≈5 km attainable near the surface degrading to ≈10 km in the stratosphere. Spectra recorded from 1980 through 1993 have been analyzed. The retrieved total ozone and vertical profiles have been compared with total ozone mapping spectrometer (TOMS) satellite total columns for the location and dates of the Kitt Peak measurements and about 100 ozone ozonesoundings and Brewer total column measurements from Palestine, Texas, from 1979 to 1985. The total ozone measurements agree to ¿2%. The retrieved profiles reproduce the seasonally averaged variations with altitude, including the ozone spring maximum and fall minimum measured by Palestine sondes, but up to 15% differences in the absolute values are obtained. ¿ American Geophysical Union 1995