A new class of coefficients for the Hopf-cyclic homology of module algebras and coalgebras is introduced. These coefficients, termed stable anti-Yetter-Drinfeld contramodules, are both modules and contramodules of a Hopf algebra that satisfy certain compatibility conditions. 1. Introduction. It has been demonstrated in [8], [9] that the Hopf-cyclic homology developed by Connes and Moscovici [5]...