Cold acclimation increased the activities of superoxide dismutase, catalase, total and selenium (Se)-dependent glutathione peroxidases (GPx) and glutathione reductase by 2-4-fold in the brown adipose tissue (BAT) of cold-acclimated rats. Nevertheless, when expressed per unit protein, the antioxidant enzyme activities were unaltered. Sensitivity to lipid peroxidation and GSH levels both increased by one order of magnitude in the cold on a per weight basis and were still 3-5 times greater in the cold when expressed per mg of protein. We suggest that activation of BAT leads to a large increase in the potential for lipid peroxidation and that the tissue responds to this challenge by increasing practically all of its antioxidant defences. Nevertheless, GSH, and possibly GPx activity, seem to be the principal defences involved in adaptation of the tissue to a higher sensitivity to peroxidative damage after activation.