Ytterbium oxide enriched to 95.9% in mass number 172 was irradiated with 6-Mev protons. An activity decaying by electron capture with a half-life of (6.70±0.04) days was produced and its assignment to Lu 172 confirmed by the identification of the ytterbium K x ray and by comparison with the activities produced by similar proton irradiations of the other enriched isotopes of ytterbium. The 4.0-hour positron activity previously assigned to Lu 172 was not observed and is best attributed to an impurity. The observed activity of Lu 172 consists of the L and K x rays of ytterbium and gamma rays with energies of 79, 91, 113, 182, 203, 270, 324, 373, 490, 527, 697, 809, 900, 912, 1093, 1402, and 1583 kev. Because no positron radiation exists in the activity of Lu 172 , the mode of decay is solely by electron capture to Yb 172 . Gammagamma coincidence measurements, energy considerations, and consideration of the relative numbers of the radiations observed in the activity of Lu 172 have led to the assignment of energy levels at 530 kev in Yb 172 in addition to the previously known 78.7 (2+)-and 260.2 (4+)-kev levels. The positions of all of the observed radiations and some observed only in conversion electron measurements are shown in a proposed energy level scheme for the decay of Lu 172 . Approximate branching ratios for the electron capture disintegrations of Lu 172 are also shown in the level scheme. Few, if any, electron capture transitions of Lu 172 occur to the ground and first excited states of Yb 172 . Of the two predicted spins for the ground state of Lu 172 , 4-is more consistent with the proposed energy level scheme.