To investigate the effects of environmental salinity on the expression of the genes for growth hormone (GH) and prolactin (PRL) in the pituitary, and their receptors (GHR, PRLR) In the kidney, intestine, and gills in teleosts, we acclimated juvenile olive flounders (Paralichthys olivaceus) to different salinities (5, 15, 25, or 32 psu) for 3 days and examined their mRNA levels using the reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). In the fish adapted to low salinity, the PRL mRNA levels in the pituitary were elevated dramatically, whereas the GH mRNA levels did not differ significantly. PRLR mRNA increased significantly in fish exposed to low salinity, whereas GHR mRNA levels did not differ. These results suggest that PRL is an important hormone for flounders that are acclimated to brackish water and it may control ion homeostasis with PRLR in the osmoregulatory organs.