Fifteen inbred lines of rye, F1 and F2 progenies from crosses between lines were studied using polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Conventional genetic analysis of α-amylase zymograms showed that the 19 bands detected in the endosperm of germinating caryopses were controlled by three linked structural loci and one independent modifying locus, which influenced the electrophoretic mobility of isozymes. Two codominant alleles were found at the α-Amy1, α-Amy2 structural loci and the M-α-Amy modifying locus while the α-Amy3 locus had three alleles. Double-banded expression of the α-amylase alleles was probably due to the simultaneous presence of modified and unmodified forms of isozymes on the zymogram.