Several secretagogues of exocrine pancreatic secretion have been proposed to act as regulators of pancreatic D-cell function. To characterize this relationship, we measured incremental responses of protein, bicarbonate, and circulating somatostatin to graded doses of intravenous cholecystokinin (CCK-33), CCK-8, caerulein, bombesin, secretin, and intraduodenally perfused HCl, sodium oleate, and L-phenylalanine in conscious dogs with gastric and pancreatic fistulas and compared them with postprandial values (to a beef meal). Bombesin produced dose-related increases in somatostatin secretion (maximal, 46% of meal response), but caerulein, CCK-33, and CCK-8 released only small amounts of somatostatin at doses equivalent for pancreatic protein secretion. Secretin did not stimulate somatostatin release at any dose studied, whereas intraduodenal HCl at a load submaximal for pancreatic bicarbonate secretion increased somatostatin levels slightly (maximal, 16% of meal response). L-Phenylalanine and sodium oleate markedly increased protein secretion, but only oleate clearly stimulated somatostatin release (maximal, 11% of meal response). Our results suggest a greater quantitative importance of the intestinal phase for exocrine pancreatic stimulation than for somatostatin release.