Nuclear receptors for both estradiol and progesterone were present in twofold higher concentrations in implantation sites than in nonimplantation regions of the endometrium of 6-day pregnant rats. Decidualization in the absence of an embryo was not accompanied by a similar increase in the concentration of nuclear receptors. Moreover, this difference in receptor distribution between the implantation and nonimplantation areas persisted when a major part of the maternal supply of sex steroids was suppressed by ovariectomy on day 5 of pregnancy. These results support the hypothesis that steroids originating from the embryo affect the endometrial implantation site.