Catechol estrogens have been identified and measured in rat brain and various endocrine tissues with the use of a sensitive radioenzymatic assay. The specificity of this assay was confirmed by thin-layer chromatography and mass spectral analysis of the reaction products. The concentration of catechol estrogens in the hypothalamus and pituitary are at least ten times higher than reported previously for the parent estrogens. Catechol estrogens have potent endocrine effects and, because of their normal occurrence in the hypothalamic-pituitary axis, they have an important role in neuroendocrine regulation.