We study the luminosity function of galaxies in Hickson groups using our recent redshift survey of galaxies in and around 17 of these groups .
We find that the galaxies in these regions have a luminosity function with M _ { * } = -19.5 + 5 { log } h , and \alpha = -1.0 , where M _ { * } and \alpha are the usual parameters in the standard Schechter form of the luminosity function , and the magnitudes are measured in the B band .
The formal 95 \% confidence intervals for M _ { * } and \alpha range from ( -19.3 , -0.8 ) , to ( -19.7 , -1.2 ) and are highly correlated as is usual for these fits .
This luminosity function for galaxies in our Hickson group sample is very similar from that found in large surveys covering a range of environments .
These values are also consistent with our earlier estimates based on a photometric analysis with statistical background correction , and do not support previous suggestions of an underabundance of intrinsically faint galaxies in compact groups .
We confirm our earlier finding that the fainter galaxies are more diffusely distributed within individual groups than the brighter ones .
This can be interpreted either as evidence for mass segregation within the groups or as the result of the selection procedure for Hickson groups .