A survey of phytoseiid mites was carried out in more than 2300 vineyards, selected from all viticultural regions of France and representative of the main agricultural practices during 1985-97. Twenty-two species were found, of which Typhlodromus pyri and Kampimodromus aberrans were the most abundant. T. pyri was the dominant species in all vineyards except in two southern regions where K. aberrans was dominant. Ten species were already known in France, but three of them were collected for the first time on grapevines. Twelve species had not been inventoried in French mite fauna surveys before this study. Some factors seem to influence phytoseiid mite densities within vineyards. Cultivars with smooth leaves do not seem to be suitable for phytoseiid mites. Vine crops located near woody environments seem to be better colonized than crops remote from any uncultivated zones. Above all, crop protection practices seem to have a detrimental effect on phytoseiid mite densities. The use of insecticides and acaricides and to a lesser extent of some fungicides such as benzimidazoles and dithiocarbamates, applied several times during the year before samplings, explains the absence of phytoseiid mites on treated grapevine crops. The implications of these results for viticultural mite management and research prospects are discussed.