The present investigation was designed to determine the vitamin B6 concentration in liver and carcass of rat dams fed various dietary vitamin B6 levels during gestation and lactation. Therefore, gravid female rats received 0.6, 3, 6, 18 or 180 mg vitamin B6 per kg diet. After parturition each group was divided into 2 groups of 8 dams each, which received then a diet with 3, respectively 6 mg/kg vitamin B6 during lactation. At the end of the experiment at day 14 of lactation weight gain and food consumption as well as liver and carcass weights did not differ within the groups. The present data clearly show that both in liver and carcass of lactating rats, there exists only a slight dose-response-relationship between the dietary vitamin B6 intake and the vitamin B6 concentration in body tissue. Moreover, liver reflects the various vitamin B6 supplies during gestation and lactation somewhat better than carcass. The distribution of the vitamins did not differ among the groups and was therefore independent of the vitamin B6 supply. The present findings, especially regarding the liver, elucidate, that an adequate vitamin B6 supply during lactation can not compensate for a lack of vitamin B6 during gestation and vice versa a high dose of vitamin B6 during gestation did not completely protect against a suboptimal vitamin B6 during lactation.