Propylene dichloride was tested for developmental toxicity in groups of 30 bred female Sprague-Dawley rats treated by gavage at dose levels of 0, 10, 30, or 125 mg/kg bw/day on gestation days 6-15, then sacrificed on gestation day 21 for examination of reproductive tracts and fetuses. High-dose dams had decreased body weight gain and food consumption. Clinical signs of toxicity in high-dose dams included transient decreases in respiration rate, movement, muscle tone and extensor thrust reflex, and increases in salivation and lacrimation. Treatment had no adverse effects with respect to relative organ weights of dams, number oflitters, corpora lutea, implantations, early and late resorptions, fetal body weight, sex ratio, or incidence of skeletal or soft tissue malformations. High-dose fetuses had an increased incidence of delayed ossification of bones of the skull; the authors suggested that this effect reflected slight fetotoxicity, secondary to the reduced maternal growth at this dose level. The NOEL for maternal and fetal effects was 30 mg/kg bw/day.