<PAGE> PAGE 1
000 A000000 11/30/97
000 C000000 0000045298
000 D000000 N
000 E000000 NF
000 F000000 Y
000 G000000 N
000 H000000 N
000 I000000 3.0
000 J000000 U
001 A000000 JOHN HANCOCK LIMITED TERM GOVERNMENT FUND
001 B000000 811-1678
001 C000000 6173751702
002 A000000 101 HUNTINGTON AVENUE
002 B000000 BOSTON
002 C000000 MA
002 D010000 02199
002 D020000 7603
003 000000 N
004 000000 N
005 000000 N
006 000000 N
007 A000000 N
007 B000000 0
007 C010100 1
007 C010200 2
007 C010300 3
007 C010400 4
007 C010500 5
007 C010600 6
007 C010700 7
007 C010800 8
007 C010900 9
007 C011000 10
008 A000001 JOHN HANCOCK ADVISERS, INC.
008 B000001 A
008 C000001 801-8124
008 D010001 BOSTON
008 D020001 MA
008 D030001 02199
008 D040001 7603
011 A000001 JOHN HANCOCK FUNDS, INC.
011 B000001 8-43582
011 C010001 BOSTON
011 C020001 MA
011 C030001 02199
011 C040001 7603
012 A000001 JOHN HANCOCK SIGNATURE SERVICES, INC.
012 B000001 84-1885
012 C010001 BOSTON
012 C020001 MA
012 C030001 02199
<PAGE> PAGE 2
012 C040001 9114
013 A000001 ERNST & YOUNG LLP
013 B010001 BOSTON
013 B020001 MA
013 B030001 02116
014 A000001 JOHN HANCOCK DISTRIBUTORS, INC.
014 B000001 8-13995
014 A000002 JOHN HANCOCK FUNDS, INC.
014 B000002 8-43582
014 A000005 JOHN HANCOCK MUTUAL LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY
014 B000005 8-15661
015 A000001 INVESTORS BANK & TRUST COMPANY
015 B000001 C
015 C010001 BOSTON
015 C020001 MA
015 C030001 02106
015 E010001 X
018 000000 Y
019 A000000 Y
019 B000000 68
019 C000000 JOHNHANCOC
020 C000001 0
020 C000002 0
020 C000003 0
020 C000004 0
020 C000005 0
020 C000006 0
020 C000007 0
020 C000008 0
020 C000009 0
020 C000010 0
021 000000 0
022 A000001 PRUDENTIAL SECURITIES INC.
022 C000001 357298
022 D000001 0
022 A000002 SWISS BANK CORP.
022 C000002 126285
022 D000002 0
022 A000003 LEHMAN BROTHERS INC.
022 B000003 13-2518466
022 C000003 115327
022 D000003 402
022 A000004 HONGKONG & SHANGHAI BANKING CORP.
022 C000004 42729
022 D000004 0
022 A000005 INTERNATIONAL STRATEGY INVESTMENT
022 B000005 13-3599877
022 C000005 20341
022 D000005 15314
022 A000006 SMITH BARNEY
022 B000006 13-1912900
<PAGE> PAGE 3
022 C000006 17030
022 D000006 0
022 A000007 GOLDMAN SACHS & CO.
022 B000007 13-5108880
022 C000007 16748
022 D000007 0
022 A000008 TORONTO-DOMINION BANK
022 C000008 15297
022 D000008 0
022 A000009 FUJI SECURITIES
022 C000009 0
022 D000009 14894
022 A000010 MENDHAM CAPITAL
022 C000010 7525
022 D000010 5005
023 C000000 727376
023 D000000 39211
024 000000 N
026 A000000 N
026 B000000 N
026 C000000 N
026 D000000 Y
026 E000000 N
026 F000000 N
026 G010000 N
026 G020000 N
026 H000000 N
027 000000 Y
028 A010000 6390
028 A020000 738
028 A030000 0
028 A040000 7593
028 B010000 3845
028 B020000 806
028 B030000 0
028 B040000 7536
028 C010000 8534
028 C020000 703
028 C030000 0
028 C040000 8952
028 D010000 3704
028 D020000 790
028 D030000 0
028 D040000 5460
028 E010000 4041
028 E020000 729
028 E030000 0
028 E040000 7105
028 F010000 3431
028 F020000 607
028 F030000 0
<PAGE> PAGE 4
028 F040000 8066
028 G010000 29945
028 G020000 4373
028 G030000 0
028 G040000 44712
028 H000000 9263
029 000000 Y
030 A000000 59
030 B000000 3.00
030 C000000 0.00
031 A000000 8
031 B000000 0
032 000000 14
033 000000 37
034 000000 Y
035 000000 19
036 A000000 Y
036 B000000 0
037 000000 N
038 000000 0
039 000000 Y
040 000000 Y
041 000000 Y
042 A000000 0
042 B000000 0
042 C000000 100
042 D000000 0
042 E000000 0
042 F000000 0
042 G000000 0
042 H000000 0
043 000000 288
044 000000 434
045 000000 Y
046 000000 N
047 000000 Y
048 000000 0.000
048 A010000 250000
048 A020000 0.600
048 B010000 250000
048 B020000 0.550
048 C010000 0
048 C020000 0.000
048 D010000 0
048 D020000 0.000
048 E010000 0
048 E020000 0.000
048 F010000 0
048 F020000 0.000
048 G010000 0
048 G020000 0.000
<PAGE> PAGE 5
048 H010000 0
048 H020000 0.000
048 I010000 0
048 I020000 0.000
048 J010000 0
048 J020000 0.000
048 K010000 500000
048 K020000 0.500
049 000000 N
050 000000 N
051 000000 N
052 000000 N
053 A000000 N
054 A000000 Y
054 B000000 N
054 C000000 N
054 D000000 N
054 E000000 N
054 F000000 N
054 G000000 Y
054 H000000 Y
054 I000000 N
054 J000000 Y
054 K000000 N
054 L000000 N
054 M000000 Y
054 N000000 N
054 O000000 N
055 A000000 N
055 B000000 N
056 000000 Y
057 000000 N
058 A000000 N
059 000000 Y
060 A000000 Y
060 B000000 Y
061 000000 1000
062 A000000 Y
062 B000000 0.0
062 C000000 0.0
062 D000000 13.4
062 E000000 0.0
062 F000000 0.0
062 G000000 0.0
062 H000000 0.0
062 I000000 0.0
062 J000000 0.0
062 K000000 0.0
062 L000000 0.7
062 M000000 41.6
062 N000000 44.3
<PAGE> PAGE 6
062 O000000 0.0
062 P000000 0.0
062 Q000000 0.0
062 R000000 0.0
063 A000000 0
063 B000000 4.3
064 A000000 N
064 B000000 N
066 A000000 N
067 000000 N
068 A000000 N
068 B000000 N
069 000000 N
070 A010000 Y
070 A020000 Y
070 B010000 N
070 B020000 N
070 C010000 Y
070 C020000 N
070 D010000 N
070 D020000 N
070 E010000 Y
070 E020000 N
070 F010000 N
070 F020000 N
070 G010000 Y
070 G020000 N
070 H010000 Y
070 H020000 N
070 I010000 N
070 I020000 N
070 J010000 Y
070 J020000 N
070 K010000 Y
070 K020000 N
070 L010000 N
070 L020000 N
070 M010000 N
070 M020000 N
070 N010000 Y
070 N020000 N
070 O010000 Y
070 O020000 N
070 P010000 Y
070 P020000 N
070 Q010000 N
070 Q020000 N
070 R010000 N
070 R020000 N
071 A000000 49302
071 B000000 81261
<PAGE> PAGE 7
071 C000000 157087
071 D000000 31
072 A000000 6
072 B000000 6355
072 C000000 0
072 D000000 0
072 E000000 0
072 F000000 502
072 G000000 15
072 H000000 0
072 I000000 326
072 J000000 25
072 K000000 0
072 L000000 12
072 M000000 1
072 N000000 9
072 O000000 0
072 P000000 0
072 Q000000 0
072 R000000 0
072 S000000 0
072 T000000 288
072 U000000 0
072 V000000 0
072 W000000 5
072 X000000 1183
072 Y000000 0
072 Z000000 5172
072AA000000 0
072BB000000 342
072CC010000 1611
072CC020000 0
072DD010000 4904
072DD020000 293
072EE000000 0
073 A010000 0.2619
073 A020000 0.2327
073 B000000 0.0000
073 C000000 0.0000
074 A000000 12
074 B000000 21316
074 C000000 0
074 D000000 136990
074 E000000 0
074 F000000 0
074 G000000 0
074 H000000 0
074 I000000 0
074 J000000 0
074 K000000 0
074 L000000 1713
<PAGE> PAGE 8
074 M000000 10
074 N000000 160041
074 O000000 0
074 P000000 228
074 Q000000 0
074 R010000 0
074 R020000 0
074 R030000 0
074 R040000 252
074 S000000 0
074 T000000 159561
074 U010000 17633
074 U020000 1141
074 V010000 8.50
074 V020000 8.50
074 W000000 0.0000
074 X000000 19863
074 Y000000 0
075 A000000 0
075 B000000 165885
076 000000 0.00
077 A000000 Y
077 B000000 N
077 C000000 Y
077 D000000 N
077 E000000 N
077 F000000 N
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
SIGNATURE SUSAN S. NEWTON
TITLE VICE PRESIDENT
<TABLE> <S> <C>
<ARTICLE> 6
<SERIES>
<NUMBER> 001
<NAME> JOHN HANCOCK LIMITED TERM GOVERNMENT FUND - CLASS A
<S> <C>
<PERIOD-TYPE> 6-MOS
<FISCAL-YEAR-END> MAY-31-1998
<PERIOD-START> JUN-01-1997
<PERIOD-END> NOV-30-1997
<INVESTMENTS-AT-COST> 156,842,448
<INVESTMENTS-AT-VALUE> 158,317,781
<RECEIVABLES> 1,713,150
<ASSETS-OTHER> 9,600
<OTHER-ITEMS-ASSETS> 0
<TOTAL-ASSETS> 160,040,531
<PAYABLE-FOR-SECURITIES> 0
<SENIOR-LONG-TERM-DEBT> 0
<OTHER-ITEMS-LIABILITIES> 479,784
<TOTAL-LIABILITIES> 479,784
<SENIOR-EQUITY> 0
<PAID-IN-CAPITAL-COMMON> 169,075,530
<SHARES-COMMON-STOCK> 17,632,813
<SHARES-COMMON-PRIOR> 18,745,924
<ACCUMULATED-NII-CURRENT> (13,827)
<OVERDISTRIBUTION-NII> 0
<ACCUMULATED-NET-GAINS> (10,966,041)
<OVERDISTRIBUTION-GAINS> 0
<ACCUM-APPREC-OR-DEPREC> 1,465,085
<NET-ASSETS> 159,560,747
<DIVIDEND-INCOME> 0
<INTEREST-INCOME> 6,355,252
<OTHER-INCOME> 0
<EXPENSES-NET> 1,182,867
<NET-INVESTMENT-INCOME> 5,172,385
<REALIZED-GAINS-CURRENT> (341,745)
<APPREC-INCREASE-CURRENT> 1,610,572
<NET-CHANGE-FROM-OPS> 6,441,212
<EQUALIZATION> 0
<DISTRIBUTIONS-OF-INCOME> 4,904,485
<DISTRIBUTIONS-OF-GAINS> 0
<DISTRIBUTIONS-OTHER> 0
<NUMBER-OF-SHARES-SOLD> 3,163,228
<NUMBER-OF-SHARES-REDEEMED> 4,767,349
<SHARES-REINVESTED> 491,010
<NET-CHANGE-IN-ASSETS> (9,149,647)
<ACCUMULATED-NII-PRIOR> 11,036
<ACCUMULATED-GAINS-PRIOR> (10,624,296)
<OVERDISTRIB-NII-PRIOR> 0
<OVERDIST-NET-GAINS-PRIOR> 0
<GROSS-ADVISORY-FEES> 501,744
<INTEREST-EXPENSE> 0
<GROSS-EXPENSE> 1,182,867
<AVERAGE-NET-ASSETS> 155,458,857
<PER-SHARE-NAV-BEGIN> 8.44
<PER-SHARE-NII> 0.27
<PER-SHARE-GAIN-APPREC> 0.05
<PER-SHARE-DIVIDEND> (0.26)
<PER-SHARE-DISTRIBUTIONS> 0
<RETURNS-OF-CAPITAL> 0
<PER-SHARE-NAV-END> 8.50
<EXPENSE-RATIO> 1.37
<AVG-DEBT-OUTSTANDING> 0
<AVG-DEBT-PER-SHARE> 0
</TABLE>
<TABLE> <S> <C>
<ARTICLE> 6
<SERIES>
<NUMBER> 002
<NAME> JOHN HANCOCK LIMITED TERM GOVERNMENT FUND - CLASS B
<S> <C>
<PERIOD-TYPE> 6-MOS
<FISCAL-YEAR-END> MAY-31-1998
<PERIOD-START> JUN-01-1997
<PERIOD-END> NOV-30-1997
<INVESTMENTS-AT-COST> 156,842,448
<INVESTMENTS-AT-VALUE> 158,317,781
<RECEIVABLES> 1,713,150
<ASSETS-OTHER> 9,600
<OTHER-ITEMS-ASSETS> 0
<TOTAL-ASSETS> 160,040,531
<PAYABLE-FOR-SECURITIES> 0
<SENIOR-LONG-TERM-DEBT> 0
<OTHER-ITEMS-LIABILITIES> 479,784
<TOTAL-LIABILITIES> 479,784
<SENIOR-EQUITY> 0
<PAID-IN-CAPITAL-COMMON> 169,075,530
<SHARES-COMMON-STOCK> 1,141,496
<SHARES-COMMON-PRIOR> 1,243,215
<ACCUMULATED-NII-CURRENT> (13,827)
<OVERDISTRIBUTION-NII> 0
<ACCUMULATED-NET-GAINS> (10,966,041)
<OVERDISTRIBUTION-GAINS> 0
<ACCUM-APPREC-OR-DEPREC> 1,465,085
<NET-ASSETS> 159,560,747
<DIVIDEND-INCOME> 0
<INTEREST-INCOME> 6,355,252
<OTHER-INCOME> 0
<EXPENSES-NET> 1,182,867
<NET-INVESTMENT-INCOME> 5,172,385
<REALIZED-GAINS-CURRENT> (341,745)
<APPREC-INCREASE-CURRENT> 1,610,572
<NET-CHANGE-FROM-OPS> 6,441,212
<EQUALIZATION> 0
<DISTRIBUTIONS-OF-INCOME> 292,763
<DISTRIBUTIONS-OF-GAINS> 0
<DISTRIBUTIONS-OTHER> 0
<NUMBER-OF-SHARES-SOLD> 373,528
<NUMBER-OF-SHARES-REDEEMED> 498,383
<SHARES-REINVESTED> 498,383
<NET-CHANGE-IN-ASSETS> (9,149,647)
<ACCUMULATED-NII-PRIOR> 11,036
<ACCUMULATED-GAINS-PRIOR> (10,624,296)
<OVERDISTRIB-NII-PRIOR> 0
<OVERDIST-NET-GAINS-PRIOR> 0
<GROSS-ADVISORY-FEES> 501,744
<INTEREST-EXPENSE> 0
<GROSS-EXPENSE> 1,182,867
<AVERAGE-NET-ASSETS> 10,425,671
<PER-SHARE-NAV-BEGIN> 8.44
<PER-SHARE-NII> 0.24
<PER-SHARE-GAIN-APPREC> 0.05
<PER-SHARE-DIVIDEND> (0.23)
<PER-SHARE-DISTRIBUTIONS> 0
<RETURNS-OF-CAPITAL> 0
<PER-SHARE-NAV-END> 8.50
<EXPENSE-RATIO> 2.07
<AVG-DEBT-OUTSTANDING> 0
<AVG-DEBT-PER-SHARE> 0
</TABLE>
