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The prevalence of hypertension in sub‐Saharan Africa is increasing rapidly, and treatment remains challenging. Although the use of l‐carnitine in treatment has received much attention, studies reporting on physiological l‐carnitine levels in hypertensives are limited. Our aim was to determine physiological levels of l‐carnitine and acylcarnitines in African and Caucasian men, and to investigate associations between ambulatory blood pressure (BP) and carnitine levels. Participants included 101 African and 101 Caucasian teachers. Ambulatory BP measurements were conducted, and l‐carnitine and acylcarnitine levels determined. African men showed significantly higher systolic BP (p < 0.001), diastolic BP (p < 0.001) and l‐carnitine levels (p = 0.01). In both ethnic groups, partial regression analyses revealed a positive association between BP and l‐carnitine, although in Caucasians it was with systolic (r = 0.20, p …