beta 1,4-Galactosyltransferase is unusual among the glycosyltransferases in that a subpopulation exists on the cell surface in addition to its traditional biosynthetic location within the Golgi complex. On the cell surface, galactosyltransferase is expressed in spatially restricted, cell type-specific domains, where it functions as a receptor for extracellular oligosaccharide ligands during selected cellular interactions. For example, galactosyltransferase is found on the leading and trailing edges of migrating cells, where it facilitates lamellipodia formation and cell spreading by binding to specific N-linked oligosaccharides within laminin. Although the ability of galactosyltransferase to serve as a laminin receptor is well documented, it is unclear whether it functions solely in a lectin-like capacity to bind laminin glycoside ligands or uses its intrinsic catalytic activity to release itself from and modify its oligosaccharide substrate. In this study, we determined whether cell surface galactosyltransferase spontaneously galactosylates laminin matrices during cell migration using endogenous galactose donors. Cells were prelabeled with [3H]galactose, washed, and transferred in small clusters onto laminin matrices. The prelabeled cells migrated out from the cell cluster, during which time they deposited covalently bound [3H]galactose residues onto the laminin matrix. The degree of galactosylation was both laminin- and time-dependent and required actively migrating, intact cells. The radioactivity released from the 3H-galactosylated laminin by acid hydrolysis comigrated with authentic galactose standards on paper chromatography. In parallel assays, there was no radioactivity deposited on laminin matrices when cells were prelabeled with [3H]fucose or [3H]leucine. Furthermore, [3H]galactosylation was dependent upon galactosyltransferase-mediated cell migration, since prelabeled cells did not deposit [3H]galactose when migrating on fibronectin, upon which migration is integrin-dependent and galactosyltransferase-independent. These results raise the possibility that galactosyltransferase functions catalytically during cell migration, either to dissociate from its oligosaccharide ligand and/or to modify the extracellular matrix.