1. The ontogeny and adult distribution of neurons containing cholecystokinin (CCK) mRNA in the premammillary and mammillary nuclei and supramammillary region of the rat brain were studied using hybridization histochemistry. 2. The earliest detection of CCK mRNA in the mammillary region was on E14, followed by a marked increase in transcript levels during the next 4 days, a time during which neurons in this region still divide. During the first 2 weeks of life, few changes in the levels of CCK transcripts were seen, and an adult-like pattern of expression was seen on the twenty-first day of life. 3. Low levels of transcripts were present in numerous neurons located in all divisions of the medial nucleus and in the posterior nucleus known to project ipsilaterally to the anteroventral and anteromedial thalamic nuclei. In contrast, none of the neurons in the lateral nucleus (projecting bilaterally to the anterodorsal thalamic nucleus) had detectable transcripts. 4. Many neurons in the supramammillary nucleus had low, moderate, or high levels of transcripts. Some nearby nuclei (such as the dorsal premammillary nucleus) had smaller numbers of neurons with low levels of CCK mRNA, whereas others (such as the ventral premammillary nucleus) had none.