Mating has been shown to have effects on ovulation in a number of species which ovulate spontaneously, such as rats (Aron, Asch & Asch, 1961; Aron, Asch & Ross, 1966; Zarrow & Clark, 1968) and sheep (Parsons, Hunter & Rayner, 1967; Van der Westhuysen, Van Niekerk & Hunter, 1970). In the sow, the results obtained by Pitkjanen (1955) and Lebedev (1957) Fifty-nine Large White gilts were mated at the time of the second oestrus following withdrawal of methallibure (I.C.I.), which had been given for 21 days (100 mg/day in the feed) in order to control ovulation and to facilitate detection of the time of ovulation. The gilts were mated at the first sign of oestrus, and again 6 hr later, by boars of known fertility. They were then randomly assigned to one of four experimental groups in which coelioscopy took place 30, 35, 40 and 45 hr, respectively, after the onset of oestrus.The time ofovulation in this group (A) was compared with that in a group of thirty-seven unmated gilts (B) given a single injection of pmsg 24 hr after the last treatment with methallibure, and in a second control group (C) of seventy-four unmated gilts on their second oestrus following withdrawal of methallibure.