<PAGE> PAGE 1
000 A000000 12/31/97
000 C000000 0000745467
000 D000000 N
000 E000000 NF
000 F000000 Y
000 G000000 N
000 H000000 N
000 I000000 3.0.a
000 J000000 U
001 A000000 MERIDIAN FUND, INC.
001 B000000 811-4014
001 C000000 4154616237
002 A000000 60 E. SIR FRANCIS DRAKE BLVD., #306
002 B000000 LARKSPUR
002 C000000 CA
002 D010000 94939
003 000000 N
004 000000 N
005 000000 N
006 000000 N
007 A000000 Y
007 B000000 2
007 C010100 1
007 C020100 MERIDIAN FUND
007 C030100 N
007 C010200 2
007 C020200 MERIDIAN VALUE FUND
007 C030200 N
007 C010300 3
007 C010400 4
007 C010500 5
007 C010600 6
007 C010700 7
007 C010800 8
007 C010900 9
007 C011000 10
007 C011100 11
007 C011200 12
007 C011300 13
007 C011400 14
007 C011500 15
007 C011600 16
007 C011700 17
007 C011800 18
007 C011900 19
007 C012000 20
008 A00AA01 ASTER CAPITAL MANAGEMENT, INC.
008 B00AA01 A
008 C00AA01 801-25268
008 D01AA01 LARKSPUR
008 D02AA01 CA
<PAGE> PAGE 2
008 D03AA01 94939
012 A00AA01 FPS SERVICES, INC.
012 B00AA01 84-932
012 C01AA01 KING OF PRUSSIA
012 C02AA01 PA
012 C03AA01 19406
013 A00AA01 PRICE WATERHOUSE LLP
013 B01AA01 SAN FRANCISCO
013 B02AA01 CA
013 B03AA01 94104
014 A00AA01 MICHAEL STOLPER
014 B00AA01 8-0111646
015 A00AA01 BANK OF NEW YORK
015 B00AA01 C
015 C01AA01 NEW YORK
015 C02AA01 NY
015 C03AA01 10286
015 E01AA01 X
018 00AA00 Y
019 A00AA00 N
019 B00AA00 0
020 A000001 HAMBRECT & QUIST
020 B000001 94-2856935
020 C000001 26
020 A000002 MONTGOMERY SECURITIES
020 B000002 94-1701676
020 C000002 22
020 A000003 MCDONALD & CO.
020 B000003 34-1391950
020 C000003 21
020 A000004 EQUITABLE SECURITIES CORP.
020 B000004 62-0871146
020 C000004 21
020 A000005 WILLIAM O'NEIL
020 B000005 95-2269163
020 C000005 19
020 A000006 MORGAN KEEGAN
020 B000006 64-4749073
020 C000006 19
020 A000007 ROBERTSON STEPHENS
020 B000007 94-2524501
020 C000007 14
020 A000008 WILLIAM BLAIR
020 B000008 36-2214610
020 C000008 14
020 A000009 ROBINSON HUMPHREY
020 B000009 58-1472560
020 C000009 12
020 A000010 INSTINET CORP.
020 B000010 13-3443395
020 C000010 11
<PAGE> PAGE 3
021 000000 228
022 A000001 GOLDMAN SACHS & CO.
022 B000001 13-5108880
022 C000001 96839
022 D000001 9588
022 A000002 BANK OF NEW YORK TREASURY
022 B000002 13-6062916
022 C000002 0
022 D000002 9973
022 A000003 DONALDSON LUFKIN & JENRETTE SECURITIES CORP.
022 B000003 13-2741729
022 C000003 3969
022 D000003 1853
022 A000004 MONTGOMERY SECURITIES
022 B000004 94-1701676
022 C000004 2994
022 D000004 2662
022 A000005 MERRILL LYNCH PIERCE FENNER & SMITH INC.
022 B000005 13-5674085
022 C000005 4026
022 D000005 771
022 A000006 ROBERTSON STEPHENS
022 B000006 94-2524501
022 C000006 1315
022 D000006 2879
022 A000007 WILLIAM BLAIR & CO.
022 B000007 36-2214610
022 C000007 1334
022 D000007 2126
022 A000008 PRUDENTIAL BACHE
022 B000008 22-2347336
022 C000008 1995
022 D000008 1326
022 A000009 FIRST ANALYSIS
022 B000009 36-3158137
022 C000009 2998
022 D000009 0
022 A000010 LEHMAN BROS.
022 B000010 13-2518466
022 C000010 0
022 D000010 2688
023 C000000 126048
023 D000000 36316
024 00AA00 N
025 D00AA01 0
025 D00AA02 0
025 D00AA03 0
025 D00AA04 0
025 D00AA05 0
025 D00AA06 0
025 D00AA07 0
<PAGE> PAGE 4
025 D00AA08 0
026 A000000 Y
026 B000000 Y
026 C000000 N
026 D000000 Y
026 E000000 N
026 F000000 N
026 G010000 N
026 G020000 N
026 H000000 N
027 000000 Y
029 00AA00 N
030 A00AA00 0
030 B00AA00 0.00
030 C00AA00 0.00
031 A00AA00 0
031 B00AA00 0
032 00AA00 0
033 00AA00 0
034 00AA00 N
035 00AA00 0
036 B00AA00 0
037 00AA00 N
038 00AA00 0
039 00AA00 N
040 00AA00 N
042 A00AA00 0
042 B00AA00 0
042 C00AA00 0
042 D00AA00 0
042 E00AA00 0
042 F00AA00 0
042 G00AA00 0
042 H00AA00 0
043 00AA00 0
044 00AA00 0
049 00AA00 N
050 00AA00 N
051 00AA00 N
052 00AA00 N
053 A00AA00 N
054 A00AA00 Y
054 B00AA00 Y
054 C00AA00 N
054 D00AA00 N
054 E00AA00 N
054 F00AA00 N
054 G00AA00 N
054 H00AA00 Y
054 I00AA00 N
054 J00AA00 Y
<PAGE> PAGE 5
054 K00AA00 N
054 L00AA00 N
054 M00AA00 Y
054 N00AA00 N
054 O00AA00 Y
055 A00AA00 N
055 B00AA00 N
056 00AA00 N
057 00AA00 N
058 A00AA00 N
059 00AA00 Y
060 A00AA00 Y
060 B00AA00 Y
061 00AA00 1000
062 A00AA00 N
062 B00AA00 0.0
062 C00AA00 0.0
062 D00AA00 0.0
062 E00AA00 0.0
062 F00AA00 0.0
062 G00AA00 0.0
062 H00AA00 0.0
062 I00AA00 0.0
062 J00AA00 0.0
062 K00AA00 0.0
062 L00AA00 0.0
062 M00AA00 0.0
062 N00AA00 0.0
062 O00AA00 0.0
062 P00AA00 0.0
062 Q00AA00 0.0
062 R00AA00 0.0
063 A00AA00 0
063 B00AA00 0.0
066 A00AA00 Y
066 B00AA00 N
066 C00AA00 N
066 D00AA00 Y
066 E00AA00 N
066 F00AA00 N
066 G00AA00 N
067 00AA00 N
068 A00AA00 N
068 B00AA00 N
069 00AA00 N
077 A000000 Y
077 Q010000 Y
078 000000 N
080 A00AA00 CHUBB GROUP OF INSURANCE CO.'S OF WARREN, NJ
080 C00AA00 925
081 A00AA00 Y
<PAGE> PAGE 6
081 B00AA00 2
082 A00AA00 N
082 B00AA00 0
083 A00AA00 N
083 B00AA00 0
084 A00AA00 N
084 B00AA00 0
085 A00AA00 Y
085 B00AA00 N
086 A010000 0
086 A020000 0
086 B010000 0
086 B020000 0
086 C010000 0
086 C020000 0
086 D010000 0
086 D020000 0
086 E010000 0
086 E020000 0
086 F010000 0
086 F020000 0
028 A010100 2382
028 A020100 0
028 A030100 0
028 A040100 6271
028 B010100 1820
028 B020100 0
028 B030100 0
028 B040100 5445
028 C010100 2341
028 C020100 36964
028 C030100 0
028 C040100 6246
028 D010100 4499
028 D020100 0
028 D030100 0
028 D040100 8305
028 E010100 1529
028 E020100 0
028 E030100 0
028 E040100 23853
028 F010100 1711
028 F020100 13457
028 F030100 0
028 F040100 9577
028 G010100 14282
028 G020100 50421
028 G030100 0
028 G040100 59697
028 H000100 0
045 000100 Y
<PAGE> PAGE 7
046 000100 N
047 000100 Y
048 000100 0.000
048 A010100 50000
048 A020100 1.000
048 B010100 0
048 B020100 0.000
048 C010100 0
048 C020100 0.000
048 D010100 0
048 D020100 0.000
048 E010100 0
048 E020100 0.000
048 F010100 0
048 F020100 0.000
048 G010100 0
048 G020100 0.000
048 H010100 0
048 H020100 0.000
048 I010100 0
048 I020100 0.000
048 J010100 0
048 J020100 0.000
048 K010100 50000
048 K020100 0.750
070 A010100 N
070 A020100 N
070 B010100 N
070 B020100 N
070 C010100 N
070 C020100 N
070 D010100 N
070 D020100 N
070 E010100 N
070 E020100 N
070 F010100 N
070 F020100 N
070 G010100 N
070 G020100 N
070 H010100 N
070 H020100 N
070 I010100 N
070 I020100 N
070 J010100 Y
070 J020100 N
070 K010100 Y
070 K020100 N
070 L010100 Y
070 L020100 N
070 M010100 N
070 M020100 N
<PAGE> PAGE 8
070 N010100 Y
070 N020100 N
070 O010100 Y
070 O020100 N
070 P010100 N
070 P020100 N
070 Q010100 N
070 Q020100 N
070 R010100 N
070 R020100 N
071 A000100 55728
071 B000100 66807
071 C000100 296333
071 D000100 19
072 A000100 6
072 B000100 1441
072 C000100 1785
072 D000100 0
072 E000100 0
072 F000100 1407
072 G000100 0
072 H000100 0
072 I000100 152
072 J000100 32
072 K000100 0
072 L000100 35
072 M000100 3
072 N000100 14
072 O000100 1
072 P000100 0
072 Q000100 35
072 R000100 14
072 S000100 3
072 T000100 0
072 U000100 0
072 V000100 0
072 W000100 16
072 X000100 1712
072 Y000100 0
072 Z000100 1514
072AA000100 21982
072BB000100 0
072CC010100 4152
072CC020100 0
072DD010100 3292
072DD020100 0
072EE000100 49775
073 A010100 0.3178
073 A020100 0.0000
073 B000100 4.8114
073 C000100 0.0000
<PAGE> PAGE 9
074 A000100 11169
074 B000100 0
074 C000100 29996
074 D000100 0
074 E000100 0
074 F000100 291604
074 G000100 0
074 H000100 0
074 I000100 0
074 J000100 0
074 K000100 0
074 L000100 886
074 M000100 11
074 N000100 333666
074 O000100 0
074 P000100 221
074 Q000100 0
074 R010100 0
074 R020100 0
074 R030100 0
074 R040100 830
074 S000100 0
074 T000100 332615
074 U010100 10823
074 U020100 0
074 V010100 30.73
074 V020100 0.00
074 W000100 0.0000
074 X000100 10899
074 Y000100 0
075 A000100 0
075 B000100 353145
076 000100 0.00
028 A010200 150
028 A020200 0
028 A030200 0
028 A040200 191
028 B010200 139
028 B020200 0
028 B030200 0
028 B040200 45
028 C010200 331
028 C020200 394
028 C030200 0
028 C040200 63
028 D010200 285
028 D020200 0
028 D030200 0
028 D040200 75
028 E010200 346
028 E020200 0
<PAGE> PAGE 10
028 E030200 0
028 E040200 17
028 F010200 222
028 F020200 634
028 F030200 0
028 F040200 9
028 G010200 1473
028 G020200 1028
028 G030200 0
028 G040200 401
028 H000200 0
045 000200 Y
046 000200 N
047 000200 Y
048 000200 1.000
048 A010200 0
048 A020200 0.000
048 B010200 0
048 B020200 0.000
048 C010200 0
048 C020200 0.000
048 D010200 0
048 D020200 0.000
048 E010200 0
048 E020200 0.000
048 F010200 0
048 F020200 0.000
048 G010200 0
048 G020200 0.000
048 H010200 0
048 H020200 0.000
048 I010200 0
048 I020200 0.000
048 J010200 0
048 J020200 0.000
048 K010200 0
048 K020200 0.000
070 A010200 N
070 A020200 N
070 B010200 N
070 B020200 N
070 C010200 N
070 C020200 N
070 D010200 N
070 D020200 N
070 E010200 N
070 E020200 N
070 F010200 N
070 F020200 N
070 G010200 N
070 G020200 N
<PAGE> PAGE 11
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 N
070 M010200 N
070 M020200 N
070 N010200 Y
070 N020200 N
070 O010200 Y
070 O020200 N
070 P010200 N
070 P020200 N
070 Q010200 N
070 Q020200 N
070 R010200 N
070 R020200 N
071 A000200 5249
071 B000200 5759
071 C000200 7529
071 D000200 70
072 A000200 6
072 B000200 17
072 C000200 8
072 D000200 0
072 E000200 0
072 F000200 42
072 G000200 0
072 H000200 0
072 I000200 15
072 J000200 5
072 K000200 0
072 L000200 6
072 M000200 1
072 N000200 5
072 O000200 1
072 P000200 0
072 Q000200 12
072 R000200 4
072 S000200 3
072 T000200 0
072 U000200 0
072 V000200 0
072 W000200 0
072 X000200 94
072 Y000200 0
<PAGE> PAGE 12
072 Z000200 -69
072AA000200 728
072BB000200 0
072CC010200 0
072CC020200 458
072DD010200 592
072DD020200 0
072EE000200 457
073 A010200 1.2346
073 A020200 0.0000
073 B000200 0.9928
073 C000200 0.0000
074 A000200 1627
074 B000200 0
074 C000200 0
074 D000200 0
074 E000200 0
074 F000200 6982
074 G000200 0
074 H000200 0
074 I000200 0
074 J000200 0
074 K000200 0
074 L000200 9
074 M000200 1
074 N000200 8619
074 O000200 0
074 P000200 7
074 Q000200 0
074 R010200 0
074 R020200 0
074 R030200 0
074 R040200 20
074 S000200 0
074 T000200 8592
074 U010200 542
074 U020200 0
074 V010200 15.86
074 V020200 0.00
074 W000200 0.0000
074 X000200 207
074 Y000200 0
075 A000200 0
075 B000200 8251
076 000200 0.00
SIGNATURE PAUL A. ROBINSON
TITLE SECRETARY/TREASURER
<TABLE> <S> <C>
<ARTICLE> 6
<CIK> 0000745467
<NAME> MERIDIAN FUND,INC.
<SERIES>
<NUMBER> 1
<NAME> MERIDIAN FUND
<S> <C>
<PERIOD-TYPE> 6-MOS
<FISCAL-YEAR-END> JUN-30-1998
<PERIOD-START> JUL-01-1997
<PERIOD-END> DEC-31-1997
<INVESTMENTS-AT-COST> 247,546,296
<INVESTMENTS-AT-VALUE> 321,600,026
<RECEIVABLES> 886,559
<ASSETS-OTHER> 11,168,805
<OTHER-ITEMS-ASSETS> 10,932
<TOTAL-ASSETS> 333,666,322
<PAYABLE-FOR-SECURITIES> 0
<SENIOR-LONG-TERM-DEBT> 0
<OTHER-ITEMS-LIABILITIES> 1,050,825
<TOTAL-LIABILITIES> 1,050,825
<SENIOR-EQUITY> 0
<PAID-IN-CAPITAL-COMMON> 249,557,794
<SHARES-COMMON-STOCK> 10,823,112
<SHARES-COMMON-PRIOR> 10,634,038
<ACCUMULATED-NII-CURRENT> 124,310
<OVERDISTRIBUTION-NII> 0
<ACCUMULATED-NET-GAINS> 9,233,100
<OVERDISTRIBUTION-GAINS> 0
<ACCUM-APPREC-OR-DEPREC> 73,700,293
<NET-ASSETS> 332,615,497
<DIVIDEND-INCOME> 1,784,655
<INTEREST-INCOME> 1,441,202
<OTHER-INCOME> 0
<EXPENSES-NET> 1,711,912
<NET-INVESTMENT-INCOME> 1,513,945
<REALIZED-GAINS-CURRENT> 21,982,461
<APPREC-INCREASE-CURRENT> 4,152,119
<NET-CHANGE-FROM-OPS> 27,648,525
<EQUALIZATION> 0
<DISTRIBUTIONS-OF-INCOME> 3,292,051
<DISTRIBUTIONS-OF-GAINS> 49,775,166
<DISTRIBUTIONS-OTHER> 0
<NUMBER-OF-SHARES-SOLD> 432,496
<NUMBER-OF-SHARES-REDEEMED> 1,834,291
<SHARES-REINVESTED> 1,590,869
<NET-CHANGE-IN-ASSETS> (20,413,476)
<ACCUMULATED-NII-PRIOR> 1,902,416
<ACCUMULATED-GAINS-PRIOR> 0
<OVERDISTRIB-NII-PRIOR> 0
<OVERDIST-NET-GAINS-PRIOR> 0
<GROSS-ADVISORY-FEES> 1,406,786
<INTEREST-EXPENSE> 0
<GROSS-EXPENSE> 1,711,912
<AVERAGE-NET-ASSETS> 357,451,300
<PER-SHARE-NAV-BEGIN> 33.20
<PER-SHARE-NII> .17
<PER-SHARE-GAIN-APPREC> 2.49
<PER-SHARE-DIVIDEND> .32
<PER-SHARE-DISTRIBUTIONS> 4.81
<RETURNS-OF-CAPITAL> 0
<PER-SHARE-NAV-END> 30.73
<EXPENSE-RATIO> .95
<AVG-DEBT-OUTSTANDING> 0
<AVG-DEBT-PER-SHARE> 0
</TABLE>
<TABLE> <S> <C>
<ARTICLE> 6
<CIK> 0000745467
<NAME> MERIDIAN FUND, INC.
<SERIES>
<NUMBER> 2
<NAME> MERIDIAN VALUE FUND
<S> <C>
<PERIOD-TYPE> 6-MOS
<FISCAL-YEAR-END> JUN-30-1998
<PERIOD-START> JUL-01-1997
<PERIOD-END> DEC-31-1997
<INVESTMENTS-AT-COST> 6,161,021
<INVESTMENTS-AT-VALUE> 6,982,495
<RECEIVABLES> 9,216
<ASSETS-OTHER> 1,627,287
<OTHER-ITEMS-ASSETS> 440
<TOTAL-ASSETS> 8,619,438
<PAYABLE-FOR-SECURITIES> 0
<SENIOR-LONG-TERM-DEBT> 0
<OTHER-ITEMS-LIABILITIES> 27,571
<TOTAL-LIABILITIES> 27,571
<SENIOR-EQUITY> 0
<PAID-IN-CAPITAL-COMMON> 7,759,783
<SHARES-COMMON-STOCK> 541,822
<SHARES-COMMON-PRIOR> 421,841
<ACCUMULATED-NII-CURRENT> (68,949)
<OVERDISTRIBUTION-NII> 0
<ACCUMULATED-NET-GAINS> 79,559
<OVERDISTRIBUTION-GAINS> 0
<ACCUM-APPREC-OR-DEPREC> 821,474
<NET-ASSETS> 8,591,867
<DIVIDEND-INCOME> 8,077
<INTEREST-INCOME> 16,791
<OTHER-INCOME> 0
<EXPENSES-NET> 93,817
<NET-INVESTMENT-INCOME> (68,949)
<REALIZED-GAINS-CURRENT> 728,427
<APPREC-INCREASE-CURRENT> (457,672)
<NET-CHANGE-FROM-OPS> 201,806
<EQUALIZATION> 0
<DISTRIBUTIONS-OF-INCOME> 0
<DISTRIBUTIONS-OF-GAINS> 1,049,191
<DISTRIBUTIONS-OTHER> 0
<NUMBER-OF-SHARES-SOLD> 80,375
<NUMBER-OF-SHARES-REDEEMED> 21,788
<SHARES-REINVESTED> 61,393
<NET-CHANGE-IN-ASSETS> 1,251,757
<ACCUMULATED-NII-PRIOR> 0
<ACCUMULATED-GAINS-PRIOR> 0
<OVERDISTRIB-NII-PRIOR> 0
<OVERDIST-NET-GAINS-PRIOR> 0
<GROSS-ADVISORY-FEES> 41,899
<INTEREST-EXPENSE> 0
<GROSS-EXPENSE> 93,817
<AVERAGE-NET-ASSETS> 8,311,465
<PER-SHARE-NAV-BEGIN> 17.40
<PER-SHARE-NII> (.13)
<PER-SHARE-GAIN-APPREC> .82
<PER-SHARE-DIVIDEND> 0
<PER-SHARE-DISTRIBUTIONS> (2.23)
<RETURNS-OF-CAPITAL> 0
<PER-SHARE-NAV-END> 15.86
<EXPENSE-RATIO> 2.24
<AVG-DEBT-OUTSTANDING> 0
<AVG-DEBT-PER-SHARE> 0
</TABLE>