Studies were carried out in order to characterize specific insulin binding sites in the rat pituitary gland. Binding of labeled insulin by pituitary microsomes reached equilibrium after 4 h at 4 degrees C and remained stable over 16 h; at 25 degrees C the plateau was reached in 20 min. Equilibrium binding data analysis of competitive displacement of bound 125I-iodo insulin by unlabeled insulin yielded a non-linear Scatchard plot. At 25 degrees C the Kd for the high affinity component was 2.8 +/- 0.1 X 10(-9) M and the receptor concentration was 260 +/- 80 fmol/mg of microsomal protein. A Kd value of 4.6 +/- 0.4 X 10(-8) M and a binding capacity of 800 +/- 200 fmol/mg microsomal protein were obtained for the low affinity sites. Insulin binding to microsomes was enhanced 2.7 times by increasing the ionic strength of the incubation medium with 2 M NaCl, and was abolished when the microsome preparation was preincubated with trypsin prior to binding measurements. Other hormones, such as bovine thyrotropin, ovine follitropin, human somatotropin and ovine prolactin did not interact with the insulin receptor. Proinsulin displaced the labeled hormone in direct proportion to its insulin-like biological activity.