Seasonal changes in the distribution of arsenic species were observed in a dredged area in the southern basin of Lake Biwa, Japan. The concentrations of dimethylarsenic acid [DMAA(V)] became comparable with those of inorganic forms during a stratification period. DMAA(V) increased not only in the photic zone but also in the hypolimnion. In the photic zone, an increase in DMAA(V) was observed with the yearly maximum of water temperature. In the hypolimnion, the seasonal changes in methylarsenicals differed from those in surface waters. DMAA(V) maxima appeared seasonally under sub-anoxic conditions and developed regionally at the redox boundary and above the sediment surface. The DMAA(V) concentrations increased in the initial period of oxygen depletion and just after the disappearance of anoxia, while they diminished in the anoxic hypolimnion by midsummer. The seasonal behavior of trivalent methylarsenicals, which are readily oxidized in oxic environments, was similar to that of DMAA(V). The total arsenic concentration in the surface layer rose to a maximum in late summer. Methylarsenicals did not increase in such a way that the total arsenic concentration increased during summer.