Vitellogenin (VTG) and VTG mRNA induction by $estradiol-17eta;(E_2)$ were examined in the primary cultures of hepatocyte in the rainbow trout. Hepatocytes were precultured for 2 days, then $E_2$ was added and cultured for another 5 days. Media and hepatocytes were then analyzed by electrophoresis and Northern blotting for VTG and VTG mRNA, respectively. The hepatocytes were formed a few aggregates within 5 days without further spreading to a monolayer. Cell viability and high DNA content were maintained during the incubation. The hepatocyte culture with E2 induced a weak VTG band at a molecular weight of 175kDa on Day 2 after $E_2$ addition. The relative amount of VTG was expressed in percentage of total protein concentrations. VTG was gradually increased as $1.9\%$ on Day 2, $6.3\%$ on Day 4 and $7.3\%$ on Day 5. VTG mRNA band was detected at about 6.6 kb in the culture with $E_2$ at day 1 of culture. The level of VTG mRNA expression linearly increased with time until Day 5 (r=0.97).