Nicotinic cholinergic receptors (nAChRs) are present in ganglia in the peripheral nervous system. In autonomic ganglia, they are responsible for fast synaptic transmission, whereas in the sensory ganglia and sensory neurons, they may be involved in modulation of neurotransmission. The present study measured nAChRs in several rat autonomic ganglia: the superior cervical ganglia (SCG), sensory nodose ganglia, stellate ganglia, and pelvic ganglia. The densities of the heteromeric nAChRs determined by receptor binding assay in those four ganglia are 481, 45, 9, and 11 fmol/mg protein, respectively. Immunoprecipitation studies with subunit-specific antibodies showed that a majority of the nAChRs in the SCG and nodose ganglia contain the alpha3 and beta4 subunits, but a significant percentage of the nAChRs in these ganglia also contain alpha5 and beta2 subunits. A small percentage of the nAChRs in nodose ganglia also contain alpha2 and alpha4 subunits. Sequential immunoprecipitation assays indicated that in the SCG, all alpha5 subunits are associated with alpha3 and beta4 subunits, forming the mixed heteromeric alpha3beta4alpha5 subtype. A receptor composed of alpha3, beta2, and beta4 subunits in the SCG was also detected. In rat SCG, we found the following distribution of nAChRs subtypes: 55 to 60% simple alpha3beta4 subtype, 25 to 30% alpha3beta4alpha5 subtype, and 10 to 15% alpha3beta4beta2 subtype. These findings indicate that the nAChRs in SCG and nodose ganglia are heterogeneous, which suggests that different receptor subtypes may play different roles in these ganglia or may be activated under different conditions.