The purpose of the present study was to investigate whether the time of day (24 h) at which carbamazepine is administered influences its pharmacokinetics in the rat. The pharmacokinetics of a single, 100 mg . kg-1 bodyweight per os, dose of carbamazepine were studied at four different fixed time points of a 24-hour period (i.e. 10.00, 16.00, 22.00 or 04.00 h) in Wistar AF-SPF adult male rats maintained under controlled environmental conditions (LD: 18.00 - 06.00h) during October 1978. The total plasma levels and the unbound fraction were measured according to an immunoenzymatic method (EMIT). The effects of fasting were also investigated. The data shows circadian variations of pharmacokinetic parameters: the maximum peak concentration and the maximum time to reach this peak was observed when the drug was given respectively at 16.00h and at 10.00h. The elimination half-life varied from 15.15 hours at 16.00h to 10.48 hours at 22.00h. The observed variations may be related to: daily fluctuations of absorption or binding of the drug; diurnal variations of the hepatic drug metabolizing enzymes responsible for the inactivation; and/or diurnal variations in excretion rate of the drug.