A 13-week subchronic oral toxicity study of tannic acid (TA) was carried out in F344 rats at dose levels of 0, 0.025, 0.05, 0.1, 0.2 and 0.4% in the drinking water, to determine appropriate dose levels for a subsequent 2-year carcinogenicity study. The rats were randomly allocated to 6 groups, each consisting of 12 males and 12 females. No animals died during the administration period. There were no significant difference in body weight gain, food consumption and organ weights between the treated and control groups, although a slight decrease in water intake was seen in the 0.4% TA treated group. No specific changes were observed in any parameters in the hematological and biochemical investigations. Histopathological examination, revealed toxic changes in the TA treated male groups, in the form of necrosis in the liver, but toxicologically it was of minor importance. From these results, it was concluded that the provable maximum tolerable dose of TA in the drinking water would be more than 0.4%. In consideration of the avoidance of drinking water, the maximum tolerable dose of tannic acid was determined to be 0.5%, when given in the drinking water.