The relationships among stress, self-esteem, & suicidal ideation were examined in a group of college students. Both stress & self-esteem were significantly related to suicidal ideation. The hypothesis that self-esteem would moderate the effects of life stressors on suicidal ideation was supported at the .06 level. A significant minority of the sample indicated having thoughts severe enough to be classified as clinical suicidal ideation. Among clinical suicidal ideators, those who experienced negative life stressors recently had lower self-esteem than those who experienced negative life events six months to a year in the past. (39 refs.)