<PAGE> PAGE 1
000 A000000 02/28/97
000 C000000 0000353967
000 D000000 N
000 E000000 NF
000 F000000 Y
000 G000000 N
000 H000000 N
000 I000000 3.0
000 J000000 U
001 A000000 IDS LIFE SPECIAL INCOME FUND, INC.
001 B000000 811-3219
001 C000000 6126712152
002 A000000 IDS TOWER 10
002 B000000 MINNEAPOLIS
002 C000000 MN
002 D010000 55440
002 D020000 0010
003 000000 N
004 000000 N
005 000000 N
006 000000 N
007 A000000 Y
007 B000000 3
015 A00AA01 AMERICAN EXPRESS TRUST COMPANY
015 B00AA01 C
015 C01AA01 MINNEAPOLIS
015 C02AA01 MN
015 C03AA01 55402
015 E01AA01 X
015 A00AA02 MORGAN STANLEY TRUST COMPANY
015 B00AA02 S
015 C01AA02 BROOKLYN
015 C02AA02 NY
015 C03AA02 11201
015 E04AA02 X
018 00AA00 Y
019 A00AA00 Y
019 B00AA00 47
019 C00AA00 IDSMUTFDGR
020 A000001 GOLDMAN SACH & CO.
020 B000001 13-5108880
020 C000001 73
020 A000002 LAZARD FRERES & CO.
020 B000002 13-5545100
020 C000002 4
020 C000003 0
020 C000004 0
020 C000005 0
020 C000006 0
020 C000007 0
020 C000008 0
<PAGE> PAGE 2
020 C000009 0
020 C000010 0
021 000000 77
022 A000001 GOLDMAN SACHS & CO.
022 B000001 13-5108880
022 C000001 451766
022 D000001 83148
022 A000002 MERRILL LYNCH & CO., INC.
022 B000002 13-5674085
022 C000002 365163
022 D000002 94610
022 A000003 MORGAN STANLEY & CO., INC.
022 B000003 13-2655998
022 C000003 181319
022 D000003 109329
022 A000004 LEHMAN COMMERICAL PAPER INC.
022 B000004 13-2501865
022 C000004 258421
022 D000004 20871
022 A000005 J.P. MORGAN SECURITIES INC.
022 B000005 13-3224016
022 C000005 127260
022 D000005 111845
022 A000006 CREDIT SUISSE FIRST BOSTON CORP
022 B000006 13-5659485
022 C000006 102006
022 D000006 37174
022 A000007 CHASE MANHATTAN INVESTMENT INC.
022 B000007 13-5225436
022 C000007 49341
022 D000007 48053
022 A000008 NATIONSBANK
022 B000008 75-0520130
022 C000008 64303
022 D000008 19398
022 A000009 DONALDSON, LUFKIN JENRETTE SEC. CORP.
022 B000009 13-2741729
022 C000009 46302
022 D000009 29106
022 A000010 S.B.C.I. SECURITIES
022 B000010 13-2639550
022 C000010 32513
022 D000010 31437
023 C000000 2117511
023 D000000 774423
077 A000000 Y
077 B000000 N
077 C000000 N
077 D000000 N
077 E000000 N
077 F000000 N
<PAGE> PAGE 3
077 G000000 N
077 H000000 N
077 I000000 N
077 J000000 N
077 K000000 N
077 L000000 N
077 M000000 N
077 N000000 N
077 O000000 N
077 P000000 N
077 Q010000 Y
077 Q020000 N
077 Q030000 N
078 000000 N
024 000100 Y
025 A000101 GOLDMAN SACHS & CO.
025 B000101 13-5108880
025 C000101 D
025 D000101 2695
025 A000102 FIRST CHICAGO CAPITAL MARKETS
025 B000102 36-3595942
025 C000102 D
025 D000102 8987
025 A000103 J.P. MORGAN SECURITIES INC.
025 B000103 13-3224016
025 C000103 D
025 D000103 13384
025 A000104 SALOMON BROTHERS INC.
025 B000104 13-3082694
025 C000104 D
025 D000104 5043
025 D000105 0
025 D000106 0
025 D000107 0
025 D000108 0
028 A010100 6755
028 A020100 9237
028 A030100 0
028 A040100 21375
028 B010100 6937
028 B020100 10392
028 B030100 0
028 B040100 26661
028 C010100 7451
028 C020100 21428
028 C030100 0
028 C040100 25599
028 D010100 9530
028 D020100 10545
028 D030100 0
028 D040100 25858
<PAGE> PAGE 4
028 E010100 6622
028 E020100 10242
028 E030100 0
028 E040100 25344
028 F010100 7075
028 F020100 10747
028 F030100 0
028 F040100 23190
028 G010100 44370
028 G020100 72591
028 G030100 0
028 G040100 148027
028 H000100 0
062 A000100 Y
062 B000100 0.0
062 C000100 0.0
062 D000100 0.0
062 E000100 0.0
062 F000100 0.0
062 G000100 0.0
062 H000100 0.0
062 I000100 6.6
062 J000100 0.0
062 K000100 0.0
062 L000100 0.4
062 M000100 11.5
062 N000100 21.9
062 O000100 0.0
062 P000100 38.7
062 Q000100 20.4
062 R000100 0.5
063 A000100 0
063 B000100 14.9
064 A000100 N
064 B000100 N
070 A010100 Y
070 A020100 N
070 B010100 N
070 B020100 N
070 C010100 Y
070 C020100 Y
070 D010100 N
070 D020100 N
070 E010100 Y
070 E020100 Y
070 F010100 N
070 F020100 N
070 G010100 Y
070 G020100 N
070 H010100 N
070 H020100 N
<PAGE> PAGE 5
070 I010100 N
070 I020100 N
070 J010100 Y
070 J020100 Y
070 K010100 Y
070 K020100 N
070 L010100 Y
070 L020100 Y
070 M010100 Y
070 M020100 Y
070 N010100 Y
070 N020100 Y
070 O010100 Y
070 O020100 N
070 P010100 Y
070 P020100 N
070 Q010100 N
070 Q020100 N
070 R010100 N
070 R020100 N
071 A000100 596859
071 B000100 617175
071 C000100 1766895
071 D000100 33
072 A000100 6
072 B000100 76988
072 C000100 254
072 D000100 0
072 E000100 0
072 F000100 5834
072 G000100 467
072 H000100 0
072 I000100 0
072 J000100 203
072 K000100 0
072 L000100 45
072 M000100 15
072 N000100 0
072 O000100 0
072 P000100 0
072 Q000100 0
072 R000100 13
072 S000100 0
072 T000100 0
072 U000100 0
072 V000100 0
072 W000100 134
072 X000100 6711
072 Y000100 0
072 Z000100 70531
072AA000100 29486
<PAGE> PAGE 6
072BB000100 0
072CC010100 42219
072CC020100 0
072DD010100 70595
072DD020100 0
072EE000100 11869
073 A010100 0.4300
073 A020100 0.0000
073 B000100 0.0700
073 C000100 0.0000
074 A000100 0
074 B000100 0
074 C000100 128713
074 D000100 1797291
074 E000100 8013
074 F000100 2628
074 G000100 0
074 H000100 0
074 I000100 0
074 J000100 49582
074 K000100 8699
074 L000100 28233
074 M000100 24682
074 N000100 2047841
074 O000100 55056
074 P000100 0
074 Q000100 0
074 R010100 0
074 R020100 0
074 R030100 331
074 R040100 51900
074 S000100 0
074 T000100 1940554
074 U010100 163072
074 U020100 0
074 V010100 11.90
074 V020100 0.00
074 W000100 0.0000
074 X000100 0
074 Y000100 0
075 A000100 0
075 B000100 1947473
076 000100 0.00
024 000200 Y
025 A000201 J.P. MORGAN SECURITIES INC.
025 B000201 13-3224016
025 C000201 D
025 D000201 999
028 A010200 6083
028 A020200 46
028 A030200 0
<PAGE> PAGE 7
028 A040200 0
028 B010200 7367
028 B020200 112
028 B030200 0
028 B040200 33
028 C010200 7891
028 C020200 118
028 C030200 0
028 C040200 134
028 D010200 8609
028 D020200 64
028 D030200 0
028 D040200 32
028 E010200 9179
028 E020200 76
028 E030200 0
028 E040200 25
028 F010200 9356
028 F020200 51
028 F030200 0
028 F040200 75
028 G010200 48485
028 G020200 467
028 G030200 0
028 G040200 299
028 H000200 0
062 A000200 Y
062 B000200 0.0
062 C000200 0.0
062 D000200 0.0
062 E000200 0.0
062 F000200 0.0
062 G000200 0.0
062 H000200 0.0
062 I000200 27.5
062 J000200 0.0
062 K000200 0.0
062 L000200 0.0
062 M000200 5.2
062 N000200 1.7
062 O000200 0.0
062 P000200 0.0
062 Q000200 65.6
062 R000200 0.0
063 A000200 0
063 B000200 14.3
064 A000200 N
064 B000200 N
070 A010200 Y
070 A020200 N
070 B010200 N
<PAGE> PAGE 8
070 B020200 N
070 C010200 Y
070 C020200 N
070 D010200 N
070 D020200 N
070 E010200 Y
070 E020200 N
070 F010200 N
070 F020200 N
070 G010200 Y
070 G020200 N
070 H010200 N
070 H020200 N
070 I010200 N
070 I020200 N
070 J010200 Y
070 J020200 N
070 K010200 Y
070 K020200 N
070 L010200 Y
070 L020200 Y
070 M010200 Y
070 M020200 Y
070 N010200 Y
070 N020200 N
070 O010200 Y
070 O020200 N
070 P010200 Y
070 P020200 N
070 Q010200 N
070 Q020200 N
070 R010200 N
070 R020200 N
071 A000200 40371
071 B000200 1001
071 C000200 33116
071 D000200 3
072 A000200 6
072 B000200 1398
072 C000200 0
072 D000200 0
072 E000200 0
072 F000200 180
072 G000200 13
072 H000200 0
072 I000200 0
072 J000200 34
072 K000200 0
072 L000200 6
072 M000200 10
072 N000200 0
<PAGE> PAGE 9
072 O000200 0
072 P000200 0
072 Q000200 0
072 R000200 12
072 S000200 0
072 T000200 0
072 U000200 0
072 V000200 0
072 W000200 1
072 X000200 256
072 Y000200 0
072 Z000200 1142
072AA000200 0
072BB000200 422
072CC010200 81
072CC020200 0
072DD010200 707
072DD020200 0
072EE000200 0
073 A010200 0.1800
073 A020200 0.0000
073 B000200 0.0000
073 C000200 0.0000
074 A000200 88
074 B000200 0
074 C000200 19144
074 D000200 55724
074 E000200 0
074 F000200 0
074 G000200 0
074 H000200 0
074 I000200 0
074 J000200 0
074 K000200 856
074 L000200 1243
074 M000200 51
074 N000200 77106
074 O000200 7199
074 P000200 0
074 Q000200 0
074 R010200 0
074 R020200 0
074 R030200 0
074 R040200 229
074 S000200 0
074 T000200 69678
074 U010200 6783
074 U020200 0
074 V010200 10.27
074 V020200 0.00
074 W000200 0.0000
<PAGE> PAGE 10
074 X000200 0
074 Y000200 0
075 A000200 0
075 B000200 44284
076 000200 0.00
028 A010300 15447
028 A020300 313
028 A030300 0
028 A040300 0
028 B010300 19764
028 B020300 483
028 B030300 0
028 B040300 0
028 C010300 18352
028 C020300 603
028 C030300 0
028 C040300 43
028 D010300 21199
028 D020300 770
028 D030300 0
028 D040300 70
028 E010300 21260
028 E020300 964
028 E030300 0
028 E040300 83
028 F010300 22802
028 F020300 1082
028 F030300 0
028 F040300 3
028 G010300 118824
028 G020300 4215
028 G030300 0
028 G040300 199
028 H000300 0
062 A000300 Y
062 B000300 0.0
062 C000300 2.0
062 D000300 0.0
062 E000300 0.0
062 F000300 0.0
062 G000300 0.0
062 H000300 0.0
062 I000300 9.0
062 J000300 0.0
062 K000300 0.0
062 L000300 0.0
062 M000300 1.3
062 N000300 0.0
062 O000300 0.0
062 P000300 72.6
062 Q000300 11.6
<PAGE> PAGE 11
062 R000300 3.5
063 A000300 0
063 B000300 7.7
064 A000300 N
064 B000300 N
070 A010300 Y
070 A020300 N
070 B010300 N
070 B020300 N
070 C010300 Y
070 C020300 N
070 D010300 N
070 D020300 N
070 E010300 Y
070 E020300 N
070 F010300 N
070 F020300 N
070 G010300 Y
070 G020300 N
070 H010300 N
070 H020300 N
070 I010300 N
070 I020300 N
070 J010300 Y
070 J020300 Y
070 K010300 Y
070 K020300 N
070 L010300 Y
070 L020300 Y
070 M010300 Y
070 M020300 Y
070 N010300 Y
070 N020300 N
070 O010300 Y
070 O020300 N
070 P010300 Y
070 P020300 N
070 Q010300 N
070 Q020300 N
070 R010300 N
070 R020300 N
071 A000300 179287
071 B000300 65650
071 C000300 98242
071 D000300 67
072 A000300 6
072 B000300 5106
072 C000300 75
072 D000300 0
072 E000300 0
072 F000300 325
<PAGE> PAGE 12
072 G000300 25
072 H000300 0
072 I000300 0
072 J000300 112
072 K000300 0
072 L000300 7
072 M000300 4
072 N000300 0
072 O000300 0
072 P000300 0
072 Q000300 0
072 R000300 15
072 S000300 0
072 T000300 0
072 U000300 0
072 V000300 0
072 W000300 1
072 X000300 489
072 Y000300 0
072 Z000300 4692
072AA000300 0
072BB000300 5
072CC010300 4350
072CC020300 0
072DD010300 4692
072DD020300 0
072EE000300 0
073 A010300 0.4300
073 A020300 0.0000
073 B000300 0.0000
073 C000300 0.0000
074 A000300 76
074 B000300 0
074 C000300 19345
074 D000300 155073
074 E000300 6181
074 F000300 260
074 G000300 0
074 H000300 0
074 I000300 0
074 J000300 250
074 K000300 2094
074 L000300 3203
074 M000300 0
074 N000300 186482
074 O000300 9096
074 P000300 0
074 Q000300 0
074 R010300 0
074 R020300 0
074 R030300 0
<PAGE> PAGE 13
074 R040300 1363
074 S000300 0
074 T000300 176023
074 U010300 17296
074 U020300 0
074 V010300 10.18
074 V020300 0.00
074 W000300 0.0000
074 X000300 0
074 Y000300 0
075 A000300 0
075 B000300 108465
076 000300 0.00
SIGNATURE LESLIE L. OGG
TITLE SECRETARY
<TABLE> <S> <C>
<ARTICLE> 6
<SERIES>
<NUMBER> 2
<NAME> IDS LIFE GLOBAL YIELD FUND
<PERIOD-TYPE> 6-MOS
<FISCAL-YEAR-END> AUG-31-1997
<PERIOD-END> FEB-28-1997
<INVESTMENTS-AT-COST> 74671808
<INVESTMENTS-AT-VALUE> 74867825
<RECEIVABLES> 2098764
<ASSETS-OTHER> 139445
<OTHER-ITEMS-ASSETS> 0
<TOTAL-ASSETS> 77106034
<PAYABLE-FOR-SECURITIES> 7198532
<SENIOR-LONG-TERM-DEBT> 0
<OTHER-ITEMS-LIABILITIES> 229471
<TOTAL-LIABILITIES> 7428003
<SENIOR-EQUITY> 0
<PAID-IN-CAPITAL-COMMON> 69448887
<SHARES-COMMON-STOCK> 6782609
<SHARES-COMMON-PRIOR> 2076586
<ACCUMULATED-NII-CURRENT> 434841
<OVERDISTRIBUTION-NII> 0
<ACCUMULATED-NET-GAINS> 0
<OVERDISTRIBUTION-GAINS> 415548
<ACCUM-APPREC-OR-DEPREC> 209851
<NET-ASSETS> 69678031
<DIVIDEND-INCOME> 0
<INTEREST-INCOME> 1397912
<OTHER-INCOME> 0
<EXPENSES-NET> 255499
<NET-INVESTMENT-INCOME> 1142413
<REALIZED-GAINS-CURRENT> (421951)
<APPREC-INCREASE-CURRENT> 81127
<NET-CHANGE-FROM-OPS> 801589
<EQUALIZATION> 0
<DISTRIBUTIONS-OF-INCOME> 707572
<DISTRIBUTIONS-OF-GAINS> 0
<DISTRIBUTIONS-OTHER> 0
<NUMBER-OF-SHARES-SOLD> 4689790
<NUMBER-OF-SHARES-REDEEMED> 51938
<SHARES-REINVESTED> 68171
<NET-CHANGE-IN-ASSETS> 48747080
<ACCUMULATED-NII-PRIOR> 0
<ACCUMULATED-GAINS-PRIOR> 6403
<OVERDISTRIB-NII-PRIOR> 0
<OVERDIST-NET-GAINS-PRIOR> 0
<GROSS-ADVISORY-FEES> 180037
<INTEREST-EXPENSE> 0
<GROSS-EXPENSE> 255499
<AVERAGE-NET-ASSETS> 43681886
<PER-SHARE-NAV-BEGIN> 10.08
<PER-SHARE-NII> .25
<PER-SHARE-GAIN-APPREC> .12
<PER-SHARE-DIVIDEND> (.18)
<PER-SHARE-DISTRIBUTIONS> 0
<RETURNS-OF-CAPITAL> 0
<PER-SHARE-NAV-END> 10.27
<EXPENSE-RATIO> 1.17
<AVG-DEBT-OUTSTANDING> 0
<AVG-DEBT-PER-SHARE> 0
</TABLE>
<TABLE> <S> <C>
<ARTICLE> 6
<SERIES>
<NUMBER> 1
<NAME> IDS LIFE SPECIAL INCOME FUND
<PERIOD-TYPE> 6-MOS
<FISCAL-YEAR-END> FEB-28-1997
<PERIOD-END> AUG-31-1997
<INVESTMENTS-AT-COST> 1888176600
<INVESTMENTS-AT-VALUE> 1936644566
<RECEIVABLES> 86514562
<ASSETS-OTHER> 24681400
<OTHER-ITEMS-ASSETS> 0
<TOTAL-ASSETS> 2047840528
<PAYABLE-FOR-SECURITIES> 55056073
<SENIOR-LONG-TERM-DEBT> 0
<OTHER-ITEMS-LIABILITIES> 52230721
<TOTAL-LIABILITIES> 107286794
<SENIOR-EQUITY> 0
<PAID-IN-CAPITAL-COMMON> 1859904977
<SHARES-COMMON-STOCK> 163072491
<SHARES-COMMON-PRIOR> 165711504
<ACCUMULATED-NII-CURRENT> 0
<OVERDISTRIBUTION-NII> 2184020
<ACCUMULATED-NET-GAINS> 32445063
<OVERDISTRIBUTION-GAINS> 0
<ACCUM-APPREC-OR-DEPREC> 50387714
<NET-ASSETS> 1940553734
<DIVIDEND-INCOME> 253563
<INTEREST-INCOME> 76988145
<OTHER-INCOME> 0
<EXPENSES-NET> 6710611
<NET-INVESTMENT-INCOME> 70531097
<REALIZED-GAINS-CURRENT> 29485851
<APPREC-INCREASE-CURRENT> (42218821)
<NET-CHANGE-FROM-OPS> 142235769
<EQUALIZATION> 0
<DISTRIBUTIONS-OF-INCOME> (68411260)
<DISTRIBUTIONS-OF-GAINS> (11869083)
<DISTRIBUTIONS-OTHER> 0
<NUMBER-OF-SHARES-SOLD> 3735584
<NUMBER-OF-SHARES-REDEEMED> (13295989)
<SHARES-REINVESTED> 6921392
<NET-CHANGE-IN-ASSETS> (2639013)
<ACCUMULATED-NII-PRIOR> (2119837)
<ACCUMULATED-GAINS-PRIOR> 14828295
<OVERDISTRIB-NII-PRIOR> 0
<OVERDIST-NET-GAINS-PRIOR> 0
<GROSS-ADVISORY-FEES> 5834392
<INTEREST-EXPENSE> 0
<GROSS-EXPENSE> 6710611
<AVERAGE-NET-ASSETS> 1944957450
<PER-SHARE-NAV-BEGIN> 11.54
<PER-SHARE-NII> .43
<PER-SHARE-GAIN-APPREC> .43
<PER-SHARE-DIVIDEND> (.43)
<PER-SHARE-DISTRIBUTIONS> (.07)
<RETURNS-OF-CAPITAL> 0
<PER-SHARE-NAV-END> 11.90
<EXPENSE-RATIO> .69
<AVG-DEBT-OUTSTANDING> 0
<AVG-DEBT-PER-SHARE> 0
</TABLE>
<TABLE> <S> <C>
<ARTICLE> 6
<SERIES>
<NUMBER> 3
<NAME> IDS LIFE INCOME ADVANTAGE FUND
<PERIOD-TYPE> 6-MOS
<FISCAL-YEAR-END> AUG-31-1997
<PERIOD-END> FEB-28-1997
<INVESTMENTS-AT-COST> 176856837
<INVESTMENTS-AT-VALUE> 180859847
<RECEIVABLES> 5545865
<ASSETS-OTHER> 75999
<OTHER-ITEMS-ASSETS> 0
<TOTAL-ASSETS> 186481711
<PAYABLE-FOR-SECURITIES> 0
<SENIOR-LONG-TERM-DEBT> 0
<OTHER-ITEMS-LIABILITIES> 10458416
<TOTAL-LIABILITIES> 10458416
<SENIOR-EQUITY> 0
<PAID-IN-CAPITAL-COMMON> 172091059
<SHARES-COMMON-STOCK> 17295879
<SHARES-COMMON-PRIOR> 0
<ACCUMULATED-NII-CURRENT> 0
<OVERDISTRIBUTION-NII> 0
<ACCUMULATED-NET-GAINS> (70774)
<OVERDISTRIBUTION-GAINS> 0
<ACCUM-APPREC-OR-DEPREC> 4003010
<NET-ASSETS> 176023295
<DIVIDEND-INCOME> 75368
<INTEREST-INCOME> 5105722
<OTHER-INCOME> 0
<EXPENSES-NET> 488913
<NET-INVESTMENT-INCOME> 4692177
<REALIZED-GAINS-CURRENT> (4539)
<APPREC-INCREASE-CURRENT> 4349723
<NET-CHANGE-FROM-OPS> 9037361
<EQUALIZATION> 0
<DISTRIBUTIONS-OF-INCOME> (4689536)
<DISTRIBUTIONS-OF-GAINS> 0
<DISTRIBUTIONS-OTHER> 0
<NUMBER-OF-SHARES-SOLD> 11908907
<NUMBER-OF-SHARES-REDEEMED> (78933)
<SHARES-REINVESTED> 467560
<NET-CHANGE-IN-ASSETS> 127185143
<ACCUMULATED-NII-PRIOR> 0
<ACCUMULATED-GAINS-PRIOR> 0
<OVERDISTRIB-NII-PRIOR> 0
<OVERDIST-NET-GAINS-PRIOR> 0
<GROSS-ADVISORY-FEES> 324938
<INTEREST-EXPENSE> 0
<GROSS-EXPENSE> 488913
<AVERAGE-NET-ASSETS> 104811639
<PER-SHARE-NAV-BEGIN> 9.77
<PER-SHARE-NII> .43
<PER-SHARE-GAIN-APPREC> .41
<PER-SHARE-DIVIDEND> (.43)
<PER-SHARE-DISTRIBUTIONS> 0
<RETURNS-OF-CAPITAL> 0
<PER-SHARE-NAV-END> 10.18
<EXPENSE-RATIO> .94
<AVG-DEBT-OUTSTANDING> 0
<AVG-DEBT-PER-SHARE> 0
</TABLE>