Cardiac chronotropic response to epidermal growth factor (EGF) was assessed in chick embryonic ventricular cell aggregates. EGF at a concentration of 10 ug/mL but not at 5 ug/mL produced a significant (p less than 0.05) increase in cardiac beating rate. This was evident within 10 min, reached a peak at about 15 min and remained at that level for 1.5 hr or the rest of the observation period. The effect of EGF on cardiac automaticity was reduced but not abolished at a lower temperature (22oC) that is known to decrease the affinity of the EGF receptor and reduce the internalization of EGF. Hypothermia did not change the maximum increase in heart rate response from isoproterenol although it altered the pattern of the response. Beta adrenoreceptor blockade with metoprolol only slightly altered the response to EGF. These data indicate that EGF produces functional effects on the heart that may be mediated through EGF receptor linked mechanisms.