The acute hepatotoxicity of the three isomers of dichlorobenzene (DCB) was evaluated in male Fischer-344 (F344) rats at various times following ip administration. Plasma alanine aminotransferase (ALT) activity, measured in F344 rats 24 hr postexposure, was dramatically elevated following doses of 1.8-5.4 mmol/kg of o-DCB. Conversely, equimolar doses of p-DCB produced no such toxicity, while m-DCB produced intermediate hepatic injury at or above doses of 2.7 mmol/kg. Histopathological changes in livers from treated animals qualitatively reflected elevations in 24-hr plasma ALT activity (time to maximal elevation). Phenobarbital pretreatment potentiated the acute hepatotoxicity of o- and m-DCB, but did not affect the toxicity of p-DCB. Likewise, SKF-525A pretreatment inhibited the hepatotoxicity of o-DCB. Equimolar doses of o- and m-DCB produced approximately equivalent depletion of intrahepatic glutathione, while p-DCB had no effect on hepatic GSH. Furthermore, prior depletion of hepatic glutathione by pretreatment with phorone markedly potentiated the hepatotoxicity of o- and m-DCB, while increasing the toxicity of p-DCB to a far lesser degree. The differential hepatotoxicity of the o- and m-DCB does not appear to be explained adequately by differences in their hepatic distribution or in vivo covalent binding to hepatic proteins. Interestingly, male Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats are relatively refractive to the acute hepatotoxicity of o-DCB following ip administration of 1.8 and 5.4 mmol/kg. The combination of these dramatic differences (structure-activity and animal strains) should be useful in elucidating key events involved in the hepatotoxicity caused by these compounds.