1. Thymic peptide thymosin alpha 1 (10(-10)-10(-7) M) is shown to inhibit the specific binding of 125I-labelled VIP. 2. Thymosin alpha 1 was 1500 times less potent than VIP at inhibiting 125I-labelled VIP binding. 3. Thymosin alpha 1 (10(-10)-10(-7) M) was weak in stimulating cyclic AMP production. 4. Interaction of thymosin alpha 1 with VIP receptors is compared with PHI and secretin. 5. The order of affinity of different peptides is VIP greater than PHI greater than secretin greater than thymosin alpha 1.