SUMMARY1,4,5,8-Tetradeuterionaphthalene was synthesized from 1 ,Cdibromonaphthalene by two methods. In the first method naphthalene was repeatedly brominated in chloroform and then debrominated with zinc dust in alkaline deuterium oxide. In the second, 1,4-dibromonaphthaIene was nitrated to produce 1,4-dibrorno-5-nitronaphthalene which underwent reductive debromination with zinc in alkaline deuterium oxide to l-amino-5,8-dideuterionaphthalene. The latter was converted into l-bromo-5,8-dideuterionaphthalene by a modified Sandmeyer reaction which was brominated to 1,Cdibromo5&dideuterionaphthalene and then debrominated to 1,4,5,8-tetradeuterionaphthalene .In connection with some spectroscopic studies by MITRA and BERNSTEIN which have now been published [l] a number of deuterionaphthalenes were synthesized. Monodeuteriated naphthalene, methyl naphthalene and ethylnaphthalene had previously been prepared from the bromo derivatives through the Grignard synthesis by GOUBEAU, LUTHER, FELDMANN and BRANDES [2]. Octadeuterionaphthalene is also reported in this paper. While our work was in progress SHATENSHTEIN, PEREGUDOV, ISRAILEVICH and KALINACHENKO [3] reported the preparation of 1,4,5,8-tetradeuterionaphthalene by exchanging naphthalene with liquid deuterium bromide at room temperature. Although their extensive studies of the kinetics of aromatic hydrocarbon exchange in liquid deuterium halides constitute an important contribution in this field, serious experimental problems arise in using liquid deuterium halides for preparative exchange reactions.In the present work, we were particulaily interested in obtaining 1,4,5,8-tetradeuterionaphthalene. Our first attempts to prepare this compound were *