The effects of carbohydrate intake on jejunal disaccharidases in rats with chronic mannitol-induced, osmotic diarrhea were studied. Weanling rats were force-fed 5 ml/100 g of body weight of water of 20% mannitol (w/v 1300 mOsm) daily for up to 14 days. Diets containing 70% of either starch, sucrose, glucose, or 20% lactose with 50% starch were fed ad libitum. Mannitol-fed rats had increased water intake and diarrhea. They gained weight, but less than controls. The levels of intestinal disaccharidases in mannitol-fed rats were related to dietary carbohydrate intake. Seven days of mannitol treatment led to lactase and sucrase deficiencies in rats fed starch whereas jejunal maltase and alkaline phosphatase were unchanged. Deficiencies in lactase and maltase but not in sucrase were induced when rats were fed a sucrose diet, while a decrease only in sucrase occurred in rats fed a lactose-starch diet. Rats with mannitol-induced diarrhea fed a glucose diet had reduced levels of all disaccharidases. The changes in intestinal disaccharidases were not associated with alterations in the number of epithelial cells or ultrastructural abnormalities. 3H-thymidine incorporation into DNA following 7 days of mannitol treatment was similar to water-fed controls. Absorptive epithelial cells were not damaged and the microvilli were normal in height and appearance. These data suggest that the levels of specific disaccharidases show and enhanced dependence upon the corresponding dietary substrates during diarrhea induced by an osmotic load.