Natural killer (NK) cell activity was examined in the spleens of C57BL/6 mice given leukemogenic split-dose irradiation. The radiation protocol resulted in severe depression of spontaneous NK cell activity; this activity was not fully restored after treatment with the interferon inducer poly I:C. In vitro mixing studies provided no evidence for active suppression in vivo as a mechanism for this decrease in activity. In addition, spontaneous activity was restored towards control levels after bone marrow transfusion from nonirradiated mice. Despite the low NK cell activity, there was no difference between control and irradiated mice in the numbers of target-binding cells (TBC). The results are most compatible with the radiation-induced loss of a cell with normal NK activity from spleen and bone marrow after the split-dose radiation protocol. In addition, a population of cells able to competitively block normal NK cell lysis of YAC-1 tumor cells is found in the bone marrow, spleen, and thymus of the irradiated mice lacking NK cell activity. These findings are considered from the perspective of their implications regarding NK cell ontogeny, and the possible role of the NK cell in radiation leukemogenesis.