Glucocorticoid action within individual cells is potently modulated by 11-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase (11-HSD), which, by interconverting active and inert glucocorticoids, determines steroid access to receptors. Type 1 11-HSD (11-HSD1) is highly expressed in liver where it regenerates glucocorticoids, thus amplifying their action and contributing to induction of glucocorticoid-responsive genes, most of which are also regulated by members of the C/EBP (CAAT/enhancer-binding protein) family of transcription factors. Here we demonstrate that C/EBP␣ is a potent activator of the 11-HSD1 gene in hepatoma cells and that mice deficient in C/EBP␣ have reduced hepatic 11-HSD1 expression. In contrast, C/EBP is a relatively weak activator of 11-HSD1 transcription in hepatoma cells and attenuates C/EBP␣ induction, and mice that lack C/EBP have increased hepatic 11-HSD1 mRNA. The 11-HSD1 promoter (between ؊812 and ؉76) contains 10 C/EBP binding sites, and mutation of the promoter proximal sites decreases the C/EBP inducibility of the promoter. One site encompasses the transcription start, and both C/EBP␣ and C/EBP are present in complexes formed by liver nuclear proteins at this site. The regulation of 11-HSD1 expression, and hence intracellular glucocorticoid levels, by members of the C/EBP family provides a novel mechanism for cross-talk between the C/EBP family of transcription factors and the glucocorticoid signaling pathway.Glucocorticoids, synthesized and secreted by the adrenal cortex, play a vital role in maintaining homeostasis, particularly during stress. The control of energy metabolism is central to the maintenance of homeostasis, and glucocorticoids play an important role in regulating glucose availability and utilization. In addition, during inflammation or injury, glucocorticoids potently suppress the immune response and play a role in the acute phase response in liver (1). The actions of glucocorticoids are principally mediated by the type II or glucocorticoid receptor and, in a limited number of tissues, by the related type I or mineralocorticoid receptor. The interaction between glucocorticoid hormone and receptors is crucially modulated by the glucocorticoid-metabolizing 11-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase (11-HSD; EC 1.1