4-Tert-Octylphenol (OP) is a surfactant additive widely used in the manufacture of a variety of detergents and plastic products. OP can disrupt endocrine function in humans and animals. This study was carried out to obtain toxicokinetic parameters of OP in male Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats. Male rats were administered with OP by single oral application of 200 mg/kg body weight. Blood, urine and tissues samples were taken at several time intervals after administration. Analysis of samples for OP was performed by column-switching high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). In addition, we exam-ined tissue distribution and accumulation of OP after single oral application of 50, 100, and 200 mg/kg, single intravenous injection of 1, 5 and 10 mg/kg or daily application of 50 mg/kg for 14 consecutive days. After single oral administration of 200 mg/kg, Cmax of 213 $pm$ 123 ng/ml was reached within the first 1.3 hr (Tmax) in the plasma. AUC was calculated for 1,333$pm$484 ngㆍhr/ml. The final elimination half-life of plasma was longer than that of urine, but urinary clearance was lower than oral. A very small fraction of OP (Fe < 0.0017%) was excreted in urine within 24 hr. These results indicated that the major excretion route of OP was not urine. The mean maximal tissue distribution of OP was obserbed at 6 hr after treatment and slowly decreased time-dependently. High OP concentrations were detected in fat at 24 hr. The OP in fat was slowly released with longer elimination half-life and lower clearance than that of other tissues. OP was not accumulated in the liver following single oral application but 14-day oral treatments resulted in two-fold accumulation. It was probably due to the saturation of detoxification pathways. On the other hand, the mRNA expression of cytochrome P450 isoforms except CYP2C11 was not affected by OP at any dose. The expression of CYP2C11 mRNA decreased in a dose-dependent manner. This result suggests that OP changes expression of the male-specific cytochrome P450 isoforms in rat liver, and these changes are closely related to the toxic and estrogenic effect of OP.