We have analyzed grazing incidence X-ray diffraction (GIXD) data from condensed phases of Langmuir films of long-chain fatty acids at the air-water using a new method consisting in a careful extraction of the structure factors followed by fitting of molecular parameters using simulated annealing. We show that the information contained in GIXD spectra is enough to obtain near-atomic structural information. In particular, we directly determine the orientation of the chain backbone planes and of the carboxylic headgroups, and we evaluate chain conformation defects. (c) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.