Form 4		UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION Washington, DC 20549 STATEMENT OF CHANGES IN BENEFICIAL OWNERSHIP Filed pursuant to Section 16(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, Section 17(a) of the Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1935 or Section 30(h) of the Investment Company Act of 1940	OMB APPROVAL
			OMB Number:  3235-0287
			Expires: January 31, 2005
[ ]	Check box if no longer subject to Section 16. Form 4 or Form 5 obligations may continue. See instructions 1(b).		Estimated average burden hours per response. . . 0.5

1. Name and Address of Reporting Person* Gilad, Zohar	2. Issuer Name and Ticker or Trading Symbol Mercury Interactive Corporation   (MERQ)		6. Relationship of Reporting Person(s) to Issuer (Check all applicable)       ___ Director                            ___ 10% Owner _X_ Officer (give title below)   ___ Other (specify below) VP & General Manager, Application Performance Management
(Last)             (First)            (Middle) 1325 Borregas Avenue	3. I.R.S. Identification Number of Reporting Person, if an entity (voluntary)	4. Statement for Month/Day/Year 01/03/2003
(Street) Sunnyvale, CA 94089		5. If Amendment, Date of Original (Month/Day/Year)	7. Individual or Joint/Group Filing (Check Applicable Line) _X_ Form filed by One Reporting Person ___ Form filed by More than One Reporting Person
(City)             (State)             (Zip)	Table I - Non-Derivative Securities Acquired, Disposed of, or Beneficially Owned

1. Title of Security (Instr. 3)	2. Transaction Date (Month/Day/Year)	2A. Deemed Execution Date, if any (Month/Day/Year)	3. Transaction Code (Instr. 8)		4. Securities Acquired (A) or Disposed of (D) (Instr. 3, 4 and 5)			5. Amount of Securities Beneficially Owned Following Reported Transactions (Instr. 3 and 4)	6. Ownership Form: Direct (D) or Indirect (I) (Instr. 4)	7. Nature of Indirect Beneficial Ownership (Instr. 4)
			Code	V	Amount	(A) or (D)	Price
Common Stock								48,136	D

Reminder: Report on a separate line for each class of securities beneficially owned directly or indirectly. * If the form is filed by more than one reporting person, see Instructions 4(b)(v).
	Potential persons who are to respond to the collection of information contained in this form are not required to respond unless the form displays a currently valid OMB control number.	(Over) SEC 1474 (9-02)

FORM 4 (continued)
Table II - Derivative Securities Acquired, Disposed of, or Beneficially Owned
(e.g., puts, calls, warrants, options, convertible securities)

1. Title of Derivative Security (Instr.3)

2. Conversion or Exercise Price of Derivative Security

3. Transaction Date (Month/ Day/Year)

3A. Deemed Execution Date, if any (Month/ Day/Year)

4. Transaction Code (Instr. 8)

5. Number of Derivative Securities Acquired (A) or Disposed of (D) (Instr.3,4 and 5)

6. Date Exercisable and Expiration Date (Month/Day/Year)

7. Title and Amount of Underlying Securities (Instr. 3 and 4)

8. Price of Derivative Security (Instr. 5)

9. Number of Derivative Securities Beneficially Owned Following Reported Transaction(s) (Instr. 4)

10. Ownership Form of Derivative Security: Direct (D) or Indirect (I) (Instr. 4)

11. Nature of Indirect Beneficial Ownership (Instr. 4)

Code

V

(A)

(D)

Date Exercisable

Expiration Date

Title

Amount or Number of Shares

Common Stock (right to buy)

$31.41

01/03/2003

A

100,000

(1)

01/03/2013

Common Stock

100,000

625,000

D

Explanation of Responses:

(1) 25% of the total number of shares subject to the option vest one year from the vesting commencement date and the remaining 75% vest on a monthly basis over the next 36 months. The option is immediately exercisable for all the shares subject to the option including those that have not vested, however, unvested shares purchased through option exercises are subject to the issuer's right of repurchase upon the termination of employment.

**	Intentional misstatements or omissions of facts constitute Federal Criminal Violations. See 18 U.S.C. 1001 and 15 U.S.C. 78ff(a).	/s/ Zohar Gilad **Signature of Reporting Person	01/06/2003  Date
Note:	File three copies of this Form, one of which must be manually signed. If space is insufficient, see Instruction 6 for procedure.

Potential persons who are to respond to the collection of information contained in this form are not
required to respond unless the form displays a currently valid OMB Number. Page 2