A vaccine consisting of noninfectious, recombinant virus-like particles (VLP) containing the major viral capsid protein L1 of nine strains of human papillomavirus (HPV), with potential immunoprotective activity. Vaccination with HPV V503 may stimulate the host immune system to mount a cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) response against cells positive for any of these nine strains of HPV, thereby preventing cervical infection upon exposure to certain HPV subtypes.