The effects of insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I) and IGF-II on the human osteoblast cell-line OHS-4 were investigated. Both IGF-I and IGF-II stimulated cell proliferation at nanomolar concentrations and alkaline phosphatase activity was decreased in a dose-dependent manner with either IGF-I or IGF-II. The production of the bone-specific protein osteocalcin was not influenced by either IGF-I or IGF-II. However, they acted synergistically with 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 at concentrations ranging from 10 to 100 nmol/l. Neither IGF-I nor IGF-II had an effect on either the basal or the parathyroid hormone-stimulated level of adenylate cyclase activity, and likewise they had no effect on phosphodiesterase activity. Binding and cross-linking experiments confirmed the presence of both type-I and type-II IGF receptors on the OHS-4 cells. The present study shows that IGF-I and IGF-II have similar effects on the parameters studied in these osteoblastic cells. They influenced both proliferation and differentiation markers. Journal of Endocrinology (1993) 136, 173–180