Metronidazole, added in vitro, did not act either as an inhibitor or as a substrate for the alcohol dehydrogenase activity of rat liver homogenates. Concentration curves of ethanol and acetaldehyde in the blood after an oral dose of ethanol were not altered by pretreatment with metronidazole; in contrast, disulfiram caused marked elevation of acetaldehyde levels. When given once only, metronidazole (or possibly a metabolite of it) exerted a mild central depressant effect of its own and produced a dose-dependent increase in the intoxicant effect of ethanol. After repeated administration of metronidazole, synergism with ethanol was not seen. An incidental finding was the production of a volatile material during incubation of solutions containing NAD, which gives an acetone-like peak in gas-liquid chromatograms.