Pharmacokinetics of carvedilol (C) have been studied in healthy volunteers after a single i.v. and oral administration, and the metabolic disposition after oral administration of 14C-labeled drug. C demonstrates dose-linear behavior. The absolute bioavailability reaches 24% probably due to a first-pass effect. After a 50 mg oral dose, maximum concentrations of 66 micrograms/l are achieved within 1.2 h. C is extensively distributed to the tissues (Vz = 132 l) and eliminated primarily by hepatic metabolism (total clearance 590 ml/min, renal clearance 4 ml/min). Because of the longer half-life of 6.4 h after oral administration in contrast to 2.4 h after i.v. administration, C is assumed to be absorption dependent since no sustained-release formulation was used. The half-life of radioactivity in plasma is 39 h; 16% of C is excreted in urine in the form of metabolites and only 0.3% unchanged. The urinary metabolites consist of carvedilol glucuronide (5.2% of the dose), cleavage products of the beta-blocking side chain (2.1%), and ring-hydroxylated forms (2.9%). Sixty percent of the dose is recovered in the feces. A demethylated product of C exhibits only minor beta-blocking activity. This metabolite is detected in plasma in concentrations ten times lower than the parent compound.