The (1)H NMR chemical shifts, coupling constants, temperature coefficients, and exchange rates have been measured for the hydroxy protons of aqueous solutions of alpha-, beta-, and gamma-cyclodextrins, maltose, and maltoheptaose. In cyclodextrins (CDs), the high chemical shift of the O(3)H signal and its small (3)J(OH,CH) value suggest that O(3)H is involved in a hydrogen bond. The small temperature coefficients and rate of exchange values of O(2)H and O(3)H confirm the involvement of O(3)H in hydrogen bonding and indicate that O(2)H is the hydrogen bond partner. In maltose, two distinct NMR signals with two different vicinal coupling constants are found for O(2')H. A cross-peak in the ROESY spectrum indicates chemical exchange between the O(2')H and O(3)H protons. The existence of two distinct NMR signals with different J values for O(2')H shows the influence of anomeric configuration on the O(2')H-O(3)H interaction. The effect of complexation with methyl benzoate, adamantane-1-carboxylic acid, adamantane-1-ol, and l- and d-tryptophane on the NMR spectra of the hydroxy protons of alpha-, beta-, and gamma-cyclodextrins and of maltose has been investigated. No significant spectral changes were observed upon addition of methyl benzoate and adamantane-1-carboxylic acid. The addition of adamantane-1-ol resulted in an upfield shift and a strong broadening of the O(2)H signal from alpha-CD, and a small temperature coefficient was measured upon complexation. The O(2)H and O(3)H signals in beta-CD were broadened and shifted downfield upon addition of l- and d-tryptophane.