Sperm surface changes during in vitro capacitation were examined with the help of an assay system using lectin-coated agarose beads. The nature and intensity of binding of epididymal spermatozoa to beads depended entirely on the particular stage of capacitation and the type of lectin attached to the bead surface. Fresh epididymal spermatozoa bound readily to beads coated with Con A, LCA, WGA, and PNA, but not with seven other lectins. During capacitation there was a constant decline in sperm binding to beads, and spermatozoa cultured for 4-5 hr bound only to those coated with Con A. A dramatic increase in sperm binding to Con A-coated agarose beads occurred between 4.5 and 5 hr, when large numbers of hyperactivated spermatozoa adhered, predominantly through their flagellae, to form large clumps on the beads. The clumping of spermatozoa on Con A-coated beads was enhanced in the presence of stimulators of capacitation (i.e., taurine, hypotaurine, and phosphodiesterase inhibitors) and was suppressed in the presence of various metabolic inhibitors (i.e., sodium azide and local anesthetics). The implications of these results are that the carbohydrate components of the entire surface of spermatozoa undergo striking changes during capacitation, and a close relationship may exist between the sperm surface and the metabolic changes occurring within capacitating spermatozoa. Sperm-bead binding assays are clearly able to recognize surface changes in asynchronous populations of motile spermatozoa and, due to their simplicity and speed, should prove to be valuable in gaining a greater understanding of the biochemistry of sperm capacitation.