We have demonstrated that the synthesis of cDNA by avian myeloblastosis virus and Moloney murine leukemia virus reverse transcriptases can be prevented by oligonucleotides bound to the RNA template approximately 100 nucleotides remote from the 3' end of the primer. The RNA was truncated at the level of the antisense oligonucleotide-RNA duplex during the reverse transcription. The key role played by the reverse transcriptase-associated RNase H activity in the inhibition process was shown by the use of (i) inhibitors of RNase H (NaF or dAMP), (ii) Moloney murine leukemia virus reverse transcriptase devoid of RNase H activity, or (iii) alpha-analogues of oligomers that do not elicit RNase H-catalyzed RNA degradation. In all three cases the inhibitory effect was either reduced (NaF, dAMP) or totally abolished. However, an alpha-oligomer bound to the sequence immediately adjacent to the primer-binding site prevented reverse transcription. Therefore, initiation of polymerization can be blocked by means of an RNase H-independent mechanism, whereas arrest of a growing cDNA strand can be achieved only by an oligonucleotide mediating cleavage of the template RNA.