Estradiol-17 beta and estradiol-17 beta-progesterone were administered to aging female rats immediately after castration. Estradiol (1.6 micrograms) alone suppressed the castration hypersecretion of FSH in mature animals to 70% of the castration controls, but in 360-day-old and older animals, the inhibition was less than 10%. There was a decrease in the castration hypersecretion of LH by exogenous estradiol-17 beta with increasing age, but the pattern of suppression was similar in all animals, regardless of age. When a constant dose of estradiol-17 beta of 0.4 micrograms/kg body wt. was administered to castrate rats with varying doses of progesterone, it was shown that after 270 days of age the negative feedback effect of these steroids on FSH secretion was not found. Whereas, when progesterone of varying doses was administered with a constant dose of 0.8 micrograms/kg BW of estradiol-17 beta, it was shown that after 180 days of age the positive feedback effect of these steroids on FSH was absent. After 270 days of age the augmentation of LH secretion by estradiol-17 beta and a middle dose of progesterone was not apparent even though the negative feedback on LH was effective. A defect in positive and negative feedback effects of gonadal steroids on gonadotropin secretion may be causative to age-related changes in the estrous cycle of rats.