To compare differentiation along the crypt-villus axis in adult rats with changes observed in postnatal maturation with respect to binding capacities for lectins and food proteins, crypts and villi were isolated by in vivo perfusion and in vitro incubation. Brush border membranes were prepared from adults and newborns, and binding of 125I-labeled lectins and food proteins was assessed by airfuge ultracentrifugation. Crypt and villus membrane protein patterns looked almost identical, unlike newborn membranes. Considerable shifts in lectin binding to membranes were observed during postnatal maturation, but not in crypt-villus differentiation. For instance, fucose-specific lectin binding patterns in both preparations resembled the general adult mode. Contrary to differences in food protein binding between newborn and adult membranes, food protein binding did not show a consistent significant difference between membranes of crypt and villus origin in adult animals. In conclusion, membrane differentiation along the crypt-villus axis was found to follow a pattern dissimilar from neonatal maturation as far as protein and carbohydrate composition and food protein binding were concerned.