Distribution and origin of corticotropin releasing factor (CRF) in the thoraco-lumbar and sacral spinal cord of the cat has been studied using immunohistochemical method. CRF immunoreactive (CRF-IR) nerve fibers and terminals were most prominent in dorsal part of sacral spinal cord. In the sacral segments of the spinal cord, immunoreactivity for CRF was detected in a prominent bundle of axons and varicosities extending from Lissauer's tract (LT) along the lateral edge of the superficial dorsal horn (laminae I and II) to laminae V at the base of the dorsal horn. Individual CRF-IR fibers passed from the bundle in ventral medial and ventrolateral directions to the dorsal commissure and the sacral preganglionic nucleus (SPN), respectively. The bundle of CRF-IR axons closely resembled vasoactive intestinal polypeptide (VIP) containing fibers in LT and on the lateral edge of the dorsal horn. Sacral dorsal root transection eliminated both the CRF and VIP fiber staining in the dorsal horn. Spinal transection at the T12-T13 segmental level did not influence the CRF- or VIP-IR. Less intense CRF-IR was also present in fibers in: (1) the dorsal lateral funiculus adjacent to LT, (2) the superficial layers of the dorsal horn and intermediolateral nucleus at thoracolumbar spinal levels, (3) the ventral horn, including Onuf's nucleus, (4) the intermediate gray matter including the dorsal gray commissure, and (5) the SPN. The similarity in the distribution of CRF-IR and pelvic nerve afferent projections in the sacral spinal cord raises the possibility that CRF may be a transmitter in afferent neurons innervating the pelvic viscera.