ABSTRACT The development of a sensitive and specific radioimmunoassay for vasopressin is described. Antibodies were successfully produced following the coupling of synthetic arginine vasopressin with bovine serum albumin carried out with carbodiimide. In order to standardize the assay, the labelled hormone has to be separated twice using a DEAE-Sephadex-A-25 column and thin layer chromatography with cellulose plates. A further condition to obtain a reproducible standard curve is the use of a pure arginine vasopressin checked by cellulose chromatography. Most of the vasopressin batches available do not fulfil this requirement of purity. With the method described, vasopressin can be determined in unextracted human urine. The lower limit of detection is 2 pg/ml. Normal values are in the range of 67.5 ± 34.3 ng/24 h (x̄ ± sd, n = 45). No significant difference of AVP excretion was found between men and women. The usefulness of the assay is demonstrated in patients with hypothalamic or pituitary disorders.