The [3H]estradiol exchange assay was used to characterize the nuclear estrogen receptor from the chick oviduct. After diethylstilibestrol (DES) treatment (14 days), the oviduct nuclei contained estrogen receptors that manifested high affinity (Kd = 2 X 10(-9)M) and low capacity binding (4000 to 5000 sites/cell) for estradiol. DES and estradiol competed significantly for [3H]estradiol binding, while testosterone and progesterone were ineffective. These binding sites were found in the oviduct and liver but not in the spleen, kidney, or muscle. Following salt extraction from nuclei, the receptor had a sedimentation coefficient of 4 S when analyzed by centrifugation in high and low salt sucrose density gradients. The [3H]estradiol exchange assay was used to examine the relationships between nuclear-bound receptor and RNA polymerase initiation sites on oviduct chromatin. Within 20 min after a single injection of 2.5 mg of DES to withdrawn chicks, a maximum number of estradiol receptor-binding sites was detected in oviduct nuclei. Within 30 min after DES injection, the total number of RNA initiation sites also increased, reaching 100% of control values. Daily injections of DES to unstimulated chicks resulted in a gradual increase in the nuclear content of estradiol receptor, which reached a maximum at 6 days and thereafter declined gradually up to 18 days of hormone treatment. A maximum number of initiation sites for RNA synthesis was also attained at 4 to 6 days of DES treatment and thereafter declined. When DES was withdrawn after 14 to 18 days of hormone stimulation, the numbers of nuclear estradiol receptor sites and initiation sites for RNA synthesis both declined gradually, reaching half-maximal values in 3 days and approached control values after 7 to 8 days of withdrawal. The increase in the concentration of nuclear estradiol receptor sites and the number of initiation sites for RNA synthesis also showed a close correlation with the dosage of DES administration. Both attained maximum levels at 1.25 mg of DES with a half-maximal value of 0.5 mg. The close correlation between the concentration of nuclear-bound estradiol receptors and the number of initiation sites for RNA synthesis in vivo is at present only a temporal correlation but does raise the possibility that gene transcription in chick oviduct may depend upon the amount of estradiol receptor bound to the target cell nuclei.