Abstract: A method of isolating paclitaxel from pactitaxel-containing material that includes the steps of obtaining an acetone mixture of the paclitaxel-containing material, then mixing the acetone mixture with an aqueous solvent to form an aqueous supernatant and a precipitate, wherein the precipitate contains at least 3-times higher paclitaxel content than the paclitaxel extract. The acetone/water precipitation step provides a high yield of highly pure paclitaxel that is suitable for industrial scale isolation using conventional normal-phase silica chromatography steps, and the preparation of pharmaceutical compositions containing paclitaxel.