Postnatal changes of preprosomatostatin mRNA expression in the rat auditory system were examined using in situ hybridization histochemical techniques. It was found that during postnatal days 1 and 2 most of the neurons in the dorsal and ventral cochlear nuclei, and large numbers of neurons in the inferior colliculus, paralemniscal nucleus, and lateral lemniscal nucleus, expressed somatostatin mRNA with a strong intensity. During postnatal development a marked decrease in the number and intensity of neurons expressing somatostatin mRNA was seen. These findings suggested that somatostatin was actively produced in the cochlear nuclei at a very early stage but that production later became reduced or ceased during postnatal ontogeny.