The hypothesis was tested that delayed-type hypersensitivity (DTH) to the complement-activating bacterium Listeria monocytogenes is initiated by complement-derived mediators that attract sensitized lymphocytes to reaction sites. To this end DTH and acquired resistance to L. monocytogenes were measured in rats injected with cobra venom factor, a potent inactivator of C3. Treatment with cobra venom factor reduced the hemolytic power of serum to less than 0.5% of the control value. Such decomplemented animals expressed both DTH and antimicrobial resistance, although expression of DTH was reduced (ca. 50%) when compared with complement-sufficient controls. The observed depression of DTH in cobra venom factor-treated rats was associated with a reduction in the number of recently activated lymphocytes (lymphoblasts) and macrophages that accumulated in DTH reaction sites. The above findings are explained, in part, by inhibition of inflammation during the early postinduction period. Supporting evidence came from measurements of labeled lymphoblast sequestration in saline injection sites and the slower accumulation of macrophages in nitrocellulose filters that were implanted subcutaneously in complement-depleted rats. The ability of cobra venom factor-treated rats to express DTH and protect themselves against a Listeria challenge seems to exclude C3-dependent factors as essential mediators in the attraction of antigen-reactive lymphocytes to reaction sites.