Summary Genomic in situ hybridization (GISH), using genomic DNA probe from O. australiensis, was used to study chromosome pairing among AA, EE and AE genomes, in the hybrid O. sativaϫO. australiensis. In the conventional cytogenetic analysis, 0-4 bivalents and 20-24 univalents were recorded. GISH, however, revealed 1-5 bivalents and 19-23 univalents. 3 types of pairing were detected: pairing between A and E genome chromosomes, within AA genome chromosomes and within EE genome chromosomes. The frequency of association between O. sativa (AA) and O. australiensis (EE) chromosomes (0.98II/cell) greatly exceeded the level of pairing, within sativa chromosomes (0.15II/cell) or within australiensis chromosomes (0.05II/cell). Results indicated that conventional cytogenetic analysis either underestimates or overestimates the pairing behavior and that GISH is a powerful tool for detecting the nature of pairing in O. sativaϫO. australiensis.